Fails the Bechdel test
Limitless
2011. Directed by Neil Burger, written by Leslie Dixon and Alan Glynn.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
14 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
An action-thriller about a writer who takes an experimental drug that allows him to use 100% of his mind. As one man evolves into the perfect version of himself, forces more corrupt than he can imagine mark him for assassination. Out-of-work writer Eddie Morra's (Cooper) rejection by girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) confirms his belief that he has zero future. That all vanishes the day an old friend introduces Eddie to NZT, a designer pharmaceutical that makes him laser-focused and more confident than any man alive. Now on an NZT-fueled odyssey, everything Eddie's read, heard or seen is instantly organized and available to him. As the former nobody rises to the top of the financial world, he draws the attention of business mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro), who sees this enhanced version of Eddie as the tool to make billions, but brutal side effects jeopardize his meteoric ascent. With a dwindling stash and hit men who will eliminate him to get the NZT, Eddie must stay wired long enough to elude capture and fulfill his destiny. If he can't, he will become just another victim who thought he'd found invincibility in a bottle.
- Released
- 18 Mar 2011
- Genres
- Sci-Fi, Thriller
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 59 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 8 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Eddie 287 lines, man
- Lindy 70 lines, woman
- Van Loon 46 lines, man
- Gennady 37 lines, man
- Melissa 29 lines, woman
- Steadman 28 lines, man
- Vern 22 lines, man
- Vernon 19 lines, man
- Valerie 13 lines, woman
- Kevin 10 lines, man
Full cast, 48 people
- Bradley Cooper as Edward Morra
- Robert De Niro as Carl Van Loon
- Abbie Cornish as Lindy
- Andrew Howard as Gennady
- Anna Friel as Melissa
- Johnny Whitworth as Vernon
- Tomas Arana as Man in Tan Coat
- Robert John Burke as Pierce
- Darren Goldstein as Kevin Doyle
- Ned Eisenberg as Morris Brandt
- T.V. Carpio as Valerie
- Richard Bekins as Hank Atwood
- Patricia Kalember as Mrs. Atwood
- Cindy Katz as Marla Sutton
- Brian Anthony Wilson as Detective
- Rebecca Dayan as Rebecca Dayan
- Ann Marie Green as Financial Newscaster
- Damali Mason as Female Cop
- Meg McCrossen as Female Assistant
- Tom Bloom as Dunham
- Nina Hodoruk as Realtor
- Tom Teti as Tailor
- Stephanie Humphrey as TV News Reporter
- Joe McCarthy as Day Trader #1
- Peter Pryor as Day Trader #2
- Daniel Breaker as Campaign Manager
- Chris McMullin as Cop
- Dave Droxler as Technician
- Luisina Quarleri as Italian Hostess / Waitress
- Piper Brown as Girl Skater
- Simon MacLean as Father Skater
- Saxon Palmer as Businessman #1
- Stephen Sable as Businessman #2
- Caroline Winberg as Maria Winberg
- Damaris Lewis as Beautiful Black Woman
- Ann Talman as Van Loon's Assistant
- Robert Bizik as Coffee Shop Owner
- Hugh Douglas as Poker Player #1
- Howard Strong as Poker Player #2
- Arlette de Alba as Girl Passenger
- Eddie J. Fernandez as Gennady Thug
- Ray Siegle as Gennady Blind Thug
- Nicolas Le Guern as Friend at Beach #1
- Richard Miller as Friend at Beach #2
- Violeta Silva as Friend at Beach #3
- Anna Parkinson as Friend at Beach #4
- Laurence Roscoe as Friend at Beach #5
- Sarah Zahn as Van Loon's Assistant (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 190
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 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 to 8 | 9 | 11 |
| 9 to 12 | 5 | 28 |
| 13 to 16 | 1 | 30 |
| 17 to 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 to 24 | 11 | 11 |
| 25 to 28 | 1 | 3 |
| 29 to 32 | 0 | 4 |
| 33 to 36 | 0 | 15 |
| 37 to 40 | 0 | 2 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 13 |
| 45 to 48 | 6 | 9 |
| 49 to 52 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 to 56 | 0 | 1 |
| 57 to 60 | 0 | 1 |
| 61 to 64 | 2 | 4 |
| 65 to 68 | 3 | 19 |
| 69 to 72 | 0 | 13 |
| 73 to 76 | 0 | 2 |
| 77 to 80 | 9 | 7 |
| 81 to 84 | 7 | 10 |
| 85 to 88 | 0 | 17 |
| 89 to 92 | 0 | 26 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 to 100 | 0 | 0 |
| 101 to 104 | 0 | 20 |
| 105 to 108 | 4 | 4 |
| 109 to 112 | 17 | 19 |
| 113 to 116 | 3 | 20 |
| 117 to 120 | 10 | 8 |
| 121 to 124 | 8 | 5 |
| 125 to 128 | 4 | 6 |
| 129 to 132 | 14 | 12 |
| 133 to 136 | 7 | 4 |
| 137 to 140 | 0 | 31 |
| 141 to 144 | 0 | 3 |
| 145 to 148 | 0 | 9 |
| 149 to 152 | 2 | 21 |
| 153 to 156 | 0 | 14 |
| 157 to 160 | 0 | 10 |
| 161 to 164 | 0 | 7 |
| 165 to 168 | 0 | 2 |
| 169 to 172 | 0 | 6 |
| 173 to 176 | 0 | 5 |
| 177 to 180 | 0 | 1 |
| 181 to 184 | 0 | 1 |
| 185 to 188 | 0 | 3 |
| 189 to 190 | 0 | 54 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 20 are women's.
123 lines from women, 491 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
14 women and 19 men in the cast. 6 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 652.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 113 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 22% of the words (1,436), men 78% (5,202). Women have 20% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit D: 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
0
Two men
37
Exhibit E: behind the camera
5 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Neil Burger (man)
- Written by
- Leslie Dixon (woman)
- From the novel by
- Alan Glynn (man)
- Produced by
- Leslie Dixon (woman), Scott Kroopf (man), Ryan Kavanaugh (man)
- Shot by
- Jo Willems (man)
- Edited by
- Tracy Adams (man), Naomi Geraghty (woman)
- Music by
- Paul Leonard-Morgan (man)
- Production design by
- Patrizia von Brandenstein (woman)
- Costumes by
- Jenny Gering (woman)
- Cast by
- Douglas Aibel (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
3 women, 10 men, 3 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 12 men
-
Camera
0 women, 6 men, 7 not listed
-
Other crew
4 women, 8 men
-
Art
2 women, 1 men, 4 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 1 men, 5 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 47 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Abbie Cornish 28, Anna Friel 34
Men
Johnny Whitworth 35, Bradley Cooper 36, Darren Goldstein 36, Andrew Howard 41, Robert John Burke 50, Ned Eisenberg 54, Tomas Arana 55, Robert De Niro 67
Exhibit G: the money
It made 6.0 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $27 million
- Box office
- $162 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 190 scenes and 652 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
