Passes the Bechdel test

Jacob's Ladder

Name: Jacob's Ladder
Released: 1990

1990. Directed by Adrian Lyne, written by Bruce Joel Rubin.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
16 women characters. 7 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 104.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

The film

Jacob Singer is trying to make sense of his fractured life and memories. Plagued by hallucinations, flashbacks, and conspiracies, he struggles down a path to enlightenment from these manic strains. With nothing but support from friends and loved ones will he be able to push through the haze of his PTSD.

Released: 02 Nov 1990
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.4 / 10
Metascore: 62 / 100
Awards: 3 wins & 1 nomination total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Jacob 429 lines, man
Jezzie 177 lines, woman
Michael 48 lines, man
Paul 45 lines, man
Louis 40 lines, man
Stern 26 lines, man
Rod 24 lines, man
Voice 20 lines
Frank 19 lines, man
Geary 19 lines, man

Full cast, 71 people

Tim Robbins as Jacob
Elizabeth Peña as Jezzie
Danny Aiello as Louis
Matt Craven as Michael
Pruitt Taylor Vince as Paul
Jason Alexander as Geary
Patricia Kalember as Sarah
Eriq La Salle as Frank
Ving Rhames as George
Brian Tarantina as Doug
Anthony Alessandro as Rod
Brent Hinkley as Jerry
S. Epatha Merkerson as Elsa
Suzanne Shepherd as Hospital Receptionist
Doug Barron as Group Leader
Jan Saint as Santa
Kisha Skinner as Street Singer
Dion Simmons as Street Singer
Sam Coppola as Taxi Driver
Patty Rosborough as Drunk
Evan O'Meara as Sam
Kyle Gass as Tony
Gloria Irizarry as Mrs. Carmichael
Lewis Black as Jacob's Doctor
Raymond Anthony Thomas as Policeman
Christopher John Fields as Field Medic
Jaime Perry as Field Medic
Michael Tomlinson as Field Doctor
A.M. Marxuach as Field Doctor
Antonia Rey as Woman on Subway
John Capodice as Army Officer
John P. 'Jack' McLaughlin as Army Officer
Bellina Logan as Emergency Ward Nurse
Scott Cohen as Resident Doctor
Davidson Thomson as Evil Doctor
Bryan Larkin as Jed
B.J. Donaldson as Eli
Thomas A. Carlin as Doorman
Carol Schneider as Nurse
Becky Ann Baker as Nurse
Diane Kagan as Nurse
Billie Neal as Della
Mike Stokie as Field Sergeant
James Ellis Reynolds as EMT Bearer
Dennis Rubin Green as Attendant
Brad Hamler as Orderly
Byron Minns as Orderly
Reggie McFadden as Partygoer
Stephanie Berry as Partygoer
Chris Murphy as Partygoer
John-Martin Green as Partygoer
Arleigh Richards as Paul's Wife
Ann Pearl Gary as Mourner
Barbara Gruen as Mourner
Joe Quintero as Street Kid
John Louis Fischer as Machine Gunner
Alva Williams as Masked Man
Elizabeth Abassi as Hospital Patient
Nora Burns as Hospital Patient
Alison Gordy as Hospital Patient
Jessica Roberts as Hospital Patient
Holly Kennedy as Hospital Patient
Blanche Irwin Stuart as Hospital Patient
Perry Lang as Jacob's Assailant
José Alvarez as Factory Worker (uncredited)
Robert Baglia as Tommy, Patient (uncredited)
Steve Baker as Pool Player (uncredited)
Orson Bean as Self - Game Show Panelist (archive footage) (uncredited)
Macaulay Culkin as Gabe (uncredited)
Ray DeFeis as Straight Jacket Patient (uncredited)
Ed Jupp Jr. as Eyeless Doctor (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 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 104

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 3	0	26
4 to 6	1	8
7 to 9	10	11
10 to 12	24	25
13 to 15	7	12
16 to 18	5	36
19 to 21	11	17
22 to 24	14	25
25 to 27	27	22
28 to 30	26	23
31 to 33	9	30
34 to 36	3	2
37 to 39	5	65
40 to 42	0	9
43 to 45	0	3
46 to 48	0	60
49 to 51	5	21
52 to 54	6	30
55 to 57	0	25
58 to 60	3	17
61 to 63	0	10
64 to 66	13	13
67 to 69	0	37
70 to 72	11	18
73 to 75	0	53
76 to 78	0	12
79 to 81	13	18
82 to 84	0	5
85 to 87	0	11
88 to 90	13	19
91 to 93	0	44
94 to 96	1	2
97 to 99	3	4
100 to 102	22	23
103 to 104	11	23

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.

ELSA: Hey, you! Let me look at your hand! DELLA: Go on Jake. She reads 'em like a book.

DELLA: It's fun. ELSA: You have an unusual hand.

JEZZIE: Hey, I'm here. DELLA: Hiya Jake. That was some dance.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 24 are women's.

243 lines from women, 759 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

16 women and 33 men in the cast. 7 women and 23 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 29 of 1,077. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 151 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 25% of the words (2,556), men 75% (7,812). Women have 24% 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

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 14% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Adrian Lyne (man)
Written by: Bruce Joel Rubin (man)
Produced by: Alan Marshall (man), Bruce Joel Rubin (man)
Shot by: Jeffrey L. Kimball (man)
Edited by: Tom Rolf (man)
Music by: Maurice Jarre (man)
Production design by: Brian Morris (man)
Costumes by: Ellen Mirojnick (woman)
Cast by: Risa Bramon Garcia (woman), Billy Hopkins (man), Heidi Levitt (woman)