Passes the Bechdel test
Life Itself
2018. Directed by Dan Fogelman, written by Dan Fogelman.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
19 women characters. 10 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 117. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
As a young New York couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes in Life Itself. Director and writer Dan Fogelman ("This Is Us") examines the perils and rewards of everyday life in a multi-generational saga featuring an international ensemble including Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Olivia Cooke, Sergio Peris- Mencheta, Laia Costa, Alex Monner and Mandy Patinkin. Set in New York City and Carmona, Spain, Life Itself celebrates the human condition and all of its complications with humor, poignancy and love.
- Released
- 21 Sep 2018
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 21 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Will 164 lines, man
- Narrator 85 lines
- Abby 82 lines, woman
- Javier 55 lines, man
- Mr. Saccione 54 lines, man
- Isabel 51 lines, woman
- Dr. Morris 47 lines, woman
- Rodrigo 39 lines, man
- Dylan 32 lines, woman
- Shari 25 lines, woman
Full cast, 44 people
- Oscar Isaac as Will Dempsey
- Olivia Wilde as Abby Dempsey
- Annette Bening as Dr. Cait Morris
- Antonio Banderas as Vincent Saccione
- Samuel L. Jackson as Self
- Olivia Cooke as Dylan Dempsey
- Mandy Patinkin as Irwin Dempsey
- Jean Smart as Linda Dempsey
- Sergio Peris-Mencheta as Javier González
- Laia Costa as Isabel Díaz
- Àlex Monner as Rodrigo González Díaz
- Isabel Durant as Shari Dickstein
- Lorenza Izzo as Elena Dempsey-González
- Jake Robinson as Henry / Hero
- Adrián Marrero as Rodrigo (7-10 Years Old)
- Kya Kruse as Young Dylan
- Charlie Thurston as Jack
- Gabby Bryan as Elizabeth
- Jordana Rose as Abby (5-7 Years Old)
- Caitlin Carmichael as Abby (11-13 Years Old)
- Bryant Carroll as Uncle Joe
- Carmela Lloret as Rodrigo's Therapist
- Grace Song as Female Barista
- Micah Stock as Barista
- Tony Manna as Manager
- Yvonne Szacki as Vet
- Noah Gaynor as Hot Frat Guy
- Ed Crescimanni as Therapist #4
- Zach Page as Bandmember
- Brian Deodat as Bandmember #2
- Joe Apollonio as Drunk at Bar #1
- Mikaela Steele as Bar Patron
- Manuel Ramos Morilla as Laborer
- María Dolores Rodríguez Villegas as Flower Seller
- Carmen Vique Rodríguez as Beautiful Woman
- David Freedman as Magician
- Theodore Mejia as Spanish Speaking Tourist #1
- Caridad Montanez as Spanish Speaking Tourist #2
- Javier Verdugo Luque as Rodrigo (10 yrs)
- Pablo Lagüens Abad as Rodrigo (13 yrs)
- Yeray Alba León as Rodrigo (14 yrs)
- Rehan as Doctor
- Dale Nussbaum as Professor
- María Dolores López Vera as Nurse
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 16% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 117
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 | 1 | 49 |
| 4 to 6 | 26 | 27 |
| 7 to 9 | 33 | 37 |
| 10 to 12 | 30 | 20 |
| 13 to 15 | 4 | 16 |
| 16 to 18 | 6 | 14 |
| 19 to 21 | 9 | 8 |
| 22 to 24 | 16 | 18 |
| 25 to 27 | 16 | 12 |
| 28 to 30 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 to 33 | 3 | 6 |
| 34 to 36 | 12 | 12 |
| 37 to 39 | 9 | 1 |
| 40 to 42 | 13 | 11 |
| 43 to 45 | 9 | 48 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 51 | 4 | 5 |
| 52 to 54 | 4 | 17 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 to 63 | 6 | 8 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 5 |
| 73 to 75 | 2 | 1 |
| 76 to 78 | 11 | 17 |
| 79 to 81 | 3 | 0 |
| 82 to 84 | 7 | 4 |
| 85 to 87 | 5 | 10 |
| 88 to 90 | 3 | 7 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 1 |
| 94 to 96 | 2 | 1 |
| 97 to 99 | 1 | 0 |
| 100 to 102 | 13 | 5 |
| 103 to 105 | 16 | 10 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 0 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 3 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 2 |
| 115 to 117 | 14 | 1 |
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.
BOB DYLAN: There’s not even room enough, to be anywhere/It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there. ABBY: Don’t.
LINDA: Abby! My God, look at you. You’re positively... ABBY: Revolting? LINDA: No, you’re-- ABBY: Gassy?
ABBY: Well, that makes them all worth it. ABBY: I’m almost afraid to ask, but did you... LINDA: Meatloaf just came out of the oven. ABBY: Oh, God bless you, I’ve never craved anything like this. Linda, get me to that meatloaf and you can nag, pester, and back-handedly insult me…
IRWIN/DYLAN: Ahhhhhh. DYLAN: Peace.
ABBY: What!? DYLAN: YOU DON’T GET IT, ASSHOLE! YOU DON’T GET IT AT ALL!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 43 are women's.
280 lines from women, 376 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
19 women and 25 men in the cast. 10 women and 11 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 68 of 782.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 67 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 41% of the words (3,421), men 59% (4,949). Women have 43% 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
9
Two men
6
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Dan Fogelman (man)
- Written by
- Dan Fogelman (man)
- Produced by
- Marty Bowen (man), Wyck Godfrey (man), Aaron Ryder (man), Dan Fogelman (man)
- Shot by
- Brett Pawlak (man)
- Edited by
- Julie Monroe (woman)
- Music by
- Federico Jusid (man)
- Production design by
- Gerald Sullivan (man)
- Costumes by
- Melissa Toth (woman)
- Cast by
- John Papsidera (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
11 women, 56 men
-
Production
16 women, 21 men
-
Sound
5 women, 27 men, 1 non-binary
-
Art
7 women, 21 men
-
Visual Effects
5 women, 15 men
-
Camera
0 women, 13 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
11 women, 2 men
-
Editing
3 women, 5 men
- Women
- Men
- Non-binary
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 44 on average. Men: 55 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Olivia Cooke 24, Laia Costa 33, Olivia Wilde 34, Annette Bening 60, Jean Smart 67
Men
Oscar Isaac 39, Sergio Peris-Mencheta 43, Antonio Banderas 58, Mandy Patinkin 65, Samuel L. Jackson 69
Exhibit H: the money
It made 80% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $10 million
- Box office
- $8 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 117 scenes and 782 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
