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Passes the Bechdel test

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

2017. Directed by Paul McGuigan, written by Peter Turner and Matt Greenhalgh.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    14 women characters. 14 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 5 scenes out of 123.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

Poster for Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

The film

Real life proves to be just as dramatic off-screen as it does on it for aging Hollywood superstar Gloria Grahame (Annette Bening) and her much younger lover, Peter Turner (Jamie Bell). As their mismatched romance waxes and wanes over time, events conspire to keep them in each other's lives even when it proves to be difficult and demanding. Ultimately, they find that they must each come to terms with whatever fate they face in the future whether they are together or apart.

Released
16 Nov 2017
Genres
Biography, Drama, Romance
Rated
R
IMDb
6.7 / 10
Metascore
65 / 100
Awards
Nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards. 3 wins & 19 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Peter 368 lines, man
  2. Gloria 325 lines, woman
  3. Bella 69 lines, woman
  4. Joe 33 lines, man
  5. Joe Snr 23 lines, man
  6. Eileen 17 lines, woman
  7. Tim 16 lines, man
  8. Joy 12 lines, woman
  9. Tino 11 lines
  10. Mother 10 lines, woman
Full cast, 40 people
  • Annette Bening as Gloria Grahame
  • Jamie Bell as Peter Turner
  • Julie Walters as Bella Turner
  • Stephen Graham as Joe Turner, Jr
  • Kenneth Cranham as Joe Turner
  • Leanne Best as Eileen
  • Vanessa Redgrave as Jeanne McDougall
  • Frances Barber as Joy
  • James Bloor as Dan
  • Tom Brittney as Tim
  • Isabella Laughland as Vanessa
  • Suzanne Bertish as Fifi Oscard
  • Joey Batey as Eddie
  • Jay Villiers as Georgie
  • Michael Billington as Sam
  • Peter Turner as Jackie
  • Tim Ahern as Doctor Grace
  • Joanna Brookes as Didi
  • David Decio as Doctor MacPhail
  • Rick Bacon as Brian
  • Pete Lee-Wilson as Pub Landlord
  • Ify Mbaeliachi as Pub Customer / Theatre Audience
  • Vaslov Goom as Dancer
  • Paul Dallison as Taxi Driver
  • Bentley Kalu as Cab driver
  • Gino Picciano as French man
  • Adam Lazarus as Waiter
  • Luana Di Pasquale as Liza Minelli
  • Gemma Oaten as Female Patient
  • Jade Clarke as Casino Gambler
  • Edward Bourne as Intrigued Student
  • Nicola-Jayne Wells as Barmaid
  • Helen Iesha Goldthorpe as Member of Theatre Audience
  • Glynn Turner as Man at London pub
  • Anna Afferr as Theatre Audience
  • Lee Adach as Theatre Audience
  • Jodie McNee as Jessie
  • Marina Bye as PR Person
  • Pandora Colin as Surgeon
  • Alexander Arnold as Anaesthetist

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 123

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 340
4 to 610
7 to 91424
10 to 12913
13 to 153018
16 to 181916
19 to 211016
22 to 242415
25 to 271314
28 to 302115
31 to 3391
34 to 362110
37 to 39129
40 to 42411
43 to 45014
46 to 4822
49 to 51129
52 to 544017
55 to 572113
58 to 6087
61 to 631126
64 to 6679
67 to 6920
70 to 7266
73 to 751510
76 to 782525
79 to 811514
82 to 841317
85 to 871615
88 to 90312
91 to 9397
94 to 9659
97 to 991619
100 to 10245
103 to 10538
106 to 1082316
109 to 11100
112 to 114230
115 to 11736
118 to 12097
121 to 12310

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
JESSIE: Y’might be staying in a luxury hotel Bella. Y’know three star and that, maybe more.. BELLA: I don’t want to be staying in a bloody luxury hotel!
BELLA: Well?? How is the girl? GLORIA: Hey Bella.. Hey Pops... BELLA: Gloria luv.. how are you? GLORIA: I’m OK.. Or I will be.
BELLA: Of course she can. GLORIA: It won’t be for long Bella, I promise. BELLA: Stay as long as you want my luv. We’ve really missed you.
BELLA: Health food shop? Round ‘ere? I think there’s one opposite the bookies on Menlove Avenue. GLORIA: Maybe you should get something for yourself baby, you look wiped. You OK?
EILEEN: Another one just in-case Eileen gets them to stay still and snaps another.. Gloria takes the camera - she frames-up. GLORIA: Cheeeeeze!!

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 50 are women's.

462 lines from women, 465 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

14 women and 18 men in the cast. 14 women and 13 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 22 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 53% of the words (4,884), men 47% (4,370). Women have 50% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit F: behind the camera

5 of the 10 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 45% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Paul McGuigan (man)
Written by
Matt Greenhalgh (man), Peter Turner (man)
Produced by
Barbara Broccoli (woman), Colin Vaines (man)
Shot by
Urszula Pontikos (woman)
Edited by
Nick Emerson (man)
Production design by
Eve Stewart (woman)
Costumes by
Jany Temime (woman)
Cast by
Debbie McWilliams (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Sound

    2 women, 13 men, 6 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    7 women, 0 men, 6 not listed

  • Production

    6 women, 2 men, 2 not listed

  • Art

    2 women, 3 men, 4 not listed

  • Camera

    1 women, 4 men, 2 not listed

  • Directing

    1 women, 1 men, 4 not listed

  • Other crew

    3 women, 0 men, 2 not listed

  • Lighting

    0 women, 0 men, 4 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 61 on average. Men: 39 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Leanne Best 38, Annette Bening 59, Frances Barber 59, Julie Walters 67, Vanessa Redgrave 80

Men

James Bloor 19, Tom Brittney 27, Jamie Bell 31, Stephen Graham 44, Kenneth Cranham 72

Exhibit H: the money

It made 32% of what it cost.

Budget
$10 million
Box office
$3.2 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 123 scenes and 986 lines of dialogue. How the test works

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