Passes the Bechdel test

I Am Number Four

Name: I Am Number Four
Released: 2011

2011. Directed by D.J. Caruso, written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and Marti Noxon.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
11 women characters. 4 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 185.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

Extraordinary teen John Smith (Pettyfer) is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity, moving from town to town with his guardian Henri (Olyphant), John is always the new kid with no ties to his past. In the small Ohio town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events - his first love (Agron), powerful new abilities and a connection to the others who share his incredible destiny.

Released: 18 Feb 2011
Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.1 / 10
Metascore: 36 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 1 nomination total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

John 225 lines, man
Henri 125 lines, man
Sarah 117 lines, woman
Sam 66 lines, man
Mark 33 lines, man
Six 19 lines, woman
Annie 10 lines
Mogadorian Commander 10 lines, man
Frank 5 lines, man
Coach 4 lines

Full cast, 41 people

Alex Pettyfer as John Smith / Number Four
Dianna Agron as Sarah Hart
Teresa Palmer as Number Six / Maren Elizabeth
Timothy Olyphant as Henri Smith
Kevin Durand as Mogadorian Commander
Callan McAuliffe as Sam Goode
Jake Abel as Mark James
Garrett M. Brown as Mr. Simms
Patrick Sebes as Kevin
Emily Wickersham as Nicole
Jeff Hochendoner as Sherriff James
Greg Townley as Number 3
Reuben Langdon as Number 3's Guardian
Molly McGinnis as Receptionist
Brian Howe as Frank
Andy Owen as Bret
Sophia Anne Caruso as Girl on Street
Charles Carroll as Sam's Stepdad
L. Derek Leonidoff as Mr. Berhman
Sabrina de Matteo as Physics Teacher
Cooper Thornton as Sarah's Dad
Judith Hoag as Sarah's Mom
Jack Walz as Sarah's Brother
Bill Laing as Demented Farmer
Beau Mirchoff as Drew
Cody Johns as Kern
Isabella Robbins as Teen At Party
Damien Walters as MOG Warrior
Jon Braver as MOG Warrior
Kevin Cassidy as MOG Warrior
Matt Leonard as MOG Warrior
Nash Edgerton as MOG Warrior
Carrick O'Quinn as MOG Warrior
Tim Sitarz as MOG Warrior
Steve Upton as MOG Warrior
Tucker Albrizzi as Tuck (uncredited)
Megan Follows as Supermarket Cashier (uncredited)
Andre' Mason as Sheriff Deputy (uncredited)
Brenna Roth as News Reporter (uncredited)
Morgan Wolk as Teen #1 (uncredited)
Jackson Nunn as Neighbor (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 185

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	2	1
5 to 8	2	0
9 to 12	0	5
13 to 16	0	0
17 to 20	0	20
21 to 24	0	15
25 to 28	0	13
29 to 32	9	26
33 to 36	0	15
37 to 40	0	6
41 to 44	6	35
45 to 48	0	6
49 to 52	0	2
53 to 56	1	0
57 to 60	17	13
61 to 64	0	15
65 to 68	7	16
69 to 72	0	7
73 to 76	8	25
77 to 80	7	4
81 to 84	7	10
85 to 88	13	22
89 to 92	0	26
93 to 96	0	0
97 to 100	0	1
101 to 104	0	0
105 to 108	7	23
109 to 112	4	3
113 to 116	2	9
117 to 120	0	16
121 to 124	0	16
125 to 128	0	11
129 to 132	0	18
133 to 136	4	3
137 to 140	0	1
141 to 144	0	2
145 to 148	6	9
149 to 152	0	5
153 to 156	1	1
157 to 160	6	7
161 to 164	1	16
165 to 168	13	26
169 to 172	6	5
173 to 176	1	7
177 to 180	1	13
181 to 184	11	10
185 to 185	0	0

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

SARAH: Sorry, Girl Scout first aid didn't cover extraterrestrial dagger wounds. Six smiles, grateful. SIX: Thanks.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 23 are women's.

142 lines from women, 484 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

11 women and 29 men in the cast. 4 women and 11 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 75 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 21% of the words (2,053), men 79% (7,782). Women have 23% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

4 of the 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 17% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: D.J. Caruso (man)
Written by: Alfred Gough (man), Miles Millar (man), Marti Noxon (woman)
From the novel by: James Frey (man), Jobie Hughes (man)
Produced by: James M. Freitag (man), Emily Berger (gender not listed), Michael Bay (man)
Shot by: Guillermo Navarro (man)
Edited by: Jim Page (man), Vince Filippone (man)
Music by: Trevor Rabin (man)
Production design by: Tom Southwell (man)
Costumes by: Marie-Sylvie Deveau (woman)
Cast by: Deborah Aquila (woman), Tricia Wood (woman)