Passes the Bechdel test
Flatliners
2017. Directed by Niels Arden Oplev, written by Peter Filardi and Ben Ripley.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
18 women characters. 14 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 21 scenes out of 191. -
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.
The film
A medical student, Courtney, is obsessed with the idea of the afterlife, wanting to find out what happens after death. She invites fellow students Jamie and Sophia to join her in an experiment, in an unused hospital room: using defibrillation to stop her heart for sixty seconds while recording her brain, and then reviving her. She assures them they would not be held responsible for any accidents. Sophia is against this, but Jamie does it anyway. After sixty seconds, they panic as they are unable to revive her, but eventually manage to with the help of fellow student Ray. Later, Marlo, a rival of Ray, arrives and learns of the experiment..
- Released
- 29 Sep 2017
- Genres
- Drama, Horror, Mystery
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 5.2 / 10
- Metascore
- 27 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Jamie 149 lines, man
- Ramon 138 lines
- Marlo 116 lines, woman
- Priya 115 lines, woman
- Courtney 105 lines, woman
- Dr. Wolfson 26 lines, man
- Brad 11 lines, man
- Priya’S Mother 9 lines, woman
- Irina 8 lines, woman
- Lane 7 lines
Full cast, 35 people
- Elliot Page as Courtney
- Diego Luna as Ray
- Nina Dobrev as Marlo
- James Norton as Jamie
- Kiersey Clemons as Sophia
- Beau Mirchoff as Brad Mauser
- Wendy Raquel Robinson as Sophia's Mother
- Kiefer Sutherland as Dr. Barry Wolfson
- Madison Brydges as Tessa
- Jacob Soley as Alex
- Anna Arden as Alicia
- Miguel Anthony as Cyrus Gudgeon
- Jenny Raven as Irina Wong
- Charlotte McKinney as Girl on Bicycle
- Steve Byers as Marlo's Brother
- Lisa Codrington as Chief Resident
- Emily Piggford as Neurology Resident #1
- Martha Girvin as Neurology Resident #2
- Taylor Trowbridge as Lauren
- Nadine Whiteman as Paramedic #1
- Richard Young as The Dean's Secretary
- Mary Grant as Radiologist
- Stefano DiMatteo as Paramedic #2
- Jimi Shlag as Burly Patient
- Natasha Bromfield as ICU Nurse
- Daniela Barbosa as Hayley
- Jelena Savić as Conference Room Medical Student
- Brian King as Chemistry Teacher
- Ali Schwartz as Mean Girl #1
- Dallas Poynter as Mean Girl #2
- Avery Bederman as Mean Girl #3
- Danny Gallagher as TEMC Dean
- Jessica Rose as Puzzle Nurse
- Corey Chainey as Medical Student
- Janet Porter as E.R. Doctor
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 24% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 191
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 17 | 0 |
| 5 to 8 | 9 | 5 |
| 9 to 12 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 to 16 | 15 | 0 |
| 17 to 20 | 3 | 21 |
| 21 to 24 | 4 | 2 |
| 25 to 28 | 13 | 9 |
| 29 to 32 | 23 | 9 |
| 33 to 36 | 16 | 15 |
| 37 to 40 | 3 | 3 |
| 41 to 44 | 8 | 8 |
| 45 to 48 | 23 | 11 |
| 49 to 52 | 17 | 8 |
| 53 to 56 | 13 | 1 |
| 57 to 60 | 15 | 9 |
| 61 to 64 | 2 | 8 |
| 65 to 68 | 17 | 2 |
| 69 to 72 | 1 | 3 |
| 73 to 76 | 11 | 4 |
| 77 to 80 | 2 | 0 |
| 81 to 84 | 6 | 2 |
| 85 to 88 | 1 | 0 |
| 89 to 92 | 4 | 1 |
| 93 to 96 | 3 | 5 |
| 97 to 100 | 16 | 8 |
| 101 to 104 | 17 | 0 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 0 |
| 109 to 112 | 4 | 3 |
| 113 to 116 | 7 | 7 |
| 117 to 120 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 124 | 3 | 5 |
| 125 to 128 | 3 | 3 |
| 129 to 132 | 15 | 16 |
| 133 to 136 | 5 | 0 |
| 137 to 140 | 4 | 0 |
| 141 to 144 | 14 | 1 |
| 145 to 148 | 4 | 1 |
| 149 to 152 | 13 | 2 |
| 153 to 156 | 3 | 4 |
| 157 to 160 | 0 | 0 |
| 161 to 164 | 0 | 0 |
| 165 to 168 | 3 | 10 |
| 169 to 172 | 8 | 1 |
| 173 to 176 | 1 | 0 |
| 177 to 180 | 3 | 0 |
| 181 to 184 | 4 | 0 |
| 185 to 188 | 4 | 3 |
| 189 to 191 | 14 | 8 |
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.
PRIYA: Jesus! COURTNEY: You’re late. PRIYA: What are we doing down here? COURTNEY: Come on. We don’t have much time.
PRIYA: What is all this? COURTNEY: They put it in five years ago, in case of a natural disaster, or loss of power. It’s a fully-functioning hospital. And it never gets used. C…
PRIYA: What are you talking about? COURTNEY: I need both of your help. These are post-mortem brain scans of patients who have died here in the hospital. I’ve been searching for the regi…
COURTNEY: Near-death experiences are similar across cultures. White light. Floating up. Powerful sensation of well-being. Over and over, the stories c… PRIYA: What do you mean ‘what comes next?’ We’re dead. Nothing comes next. COURTNEY: It’s the last sensation our brain provides us. If we can spot the protein, isolate it, analyze it...
PRIYA: What if you come back with brain damage? COURTNEY: I’ll be fine, as long as you pull me out in time. Brain cells can function without oxygen for at least four minutes.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 66 are women's.
376 lines from women, 198 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
18 women and 11 men in the cast. 14 women and 6 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 760.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 24 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 64% of the words (4,200), men 36% (2,412). Women have 66% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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
Two women
42
Two men
4
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 11 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 29% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Niels Arden Oplev (man)
- Written by
- Ben Ripley (man)
- Story by
- Peter Filardi (man)
- Produced by
- Laurence Mark (man), Peter Safran (man), Michael Douglas (man)
- Shot by
- Eric Kress (man)
- Edited by
- Tom Elkins (man)
- Music by
- Nathan Barr (man)
- Production design by
- Niels Sejer (man)
- Cast by
- Angela Demo (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
5 women, 16 men, 1 non-binary, 44 not listed
-
Sound
7 women, 14 men, 8 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 13 men, 9 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 3 men, 11 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men, 10 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 2 men, 5 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 1 men, 9 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 1 men, 5 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Non-binary
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 29 on average. Men: 31 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Madison Brydges 13, Kiersey Clemons 23, Nina Dobrev 28, Wendy Raquel Robinson 50
Men
Jacob Soley 8, Beau Mirchoff 28, James Norton 32, Diego Luna 37, Kiefer Sutherland 50
Exhibit H: the money
It made 2.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $19 million
- Box office
- $45.2 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 191 scenes and 760 lines of dialogue. How the test works
