Passes the Bechdel test
Living
2022. Directed by Oliver Hermanus, written by Kazuo Ishiguro and Akira Kurosawa and Shinobu Hashimoto.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
12 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 110. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Overwhelmed at work and lonely at home, a council bureaucrat's life takes a heartbreaking turn when a medical diagnosis tells him his time is short. Influenced by a local decadent and a vibrant woman, he continues to search for meaning until a simple revelation gives him a purpose to create a legacy for the next generation.
- Released
- 04 Nov 2022
- Genres
- Drama
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.2 / 10
- Metascore
- 81 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 10 wins & 48 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Williams 183 lines, man
- Margaret 104 lines, woman
- Peter 73 lines, man
- Middleton 49 lines, man
- Michael 44 lines, man
- Sutherland 40 lines, man
- Hart 30 lines, man
- Rusbridger 28 lines, man
- Fiona 21 lines, woman
- Sir James 16 lines, man
Full cast, 36 people
- Bill Nighy as Williams
- Aimee Lou Wood as Margaret Harris
- Alex Sharp as Peter Wakeling
- Tom Burke as Sutherland
- Adrian Rawlins as Middleton
- Oliver Chris as Hart
- Hubert Burton as Rusbridger
- Zoe Boyle as Mrs. McMasters
- Barney Fishwick as Michael
- Patsy Ferran as Fiona
- Michael Cochrane as Sir James
- Lia Williams as Mrs. Smith
- Anant Varman as Singh
- Jessica Flood as Mrs. Porter
- Jamie Wilkes as Talbot
- Richard Cunningham as Harvey
- John Mackay as Jones
- Ffion Jolly as Mrs. Button
- Celeste Dodwell as Mrs. Matthews
- Jonathan Keeble as Doctor Matthews
- Eunice Roberts as Miss Fry
- Mark James as Young Michael
- Edward Wolstenholme as Colleague
- Nichola McAuliffe as Mrs. Blake
- Laurie Denman as Piano Man
- Gleanne Purcell-Brown as Barwoman
- Violeta Valverde as Striptease Artist
- Michael James as Fortnums Watier
- Rosie Sansom as Mrs. Johnstone
- Matilda Ziegler as Prim Lady
- Grant Gillespie as Lyons Head Waiter
- Robin Sebastian as Distinguished Gentleman #1
- David Summer as Distinguished Gentleman #2
- Nicky Goldie as Landlady
- Thomas Coombes as Police Constable
- Grant Crookes as Commuter (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 110
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 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 16 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 8 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 to 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 19 to 21 | 5 | 13 |
| 22 to 24 | 1 | 7 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 6 |
| 28 to 30 | 3 | 3 |
| 31 to 33 | 7 | 4 |
| 34 to 36 | 4 | 24 |
| 37 to 39 | 5 | 14 |
| 40 to 42 | 6 | 49 |
| 43 to 45 | 1 | 26 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 1 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 to 54 | 34 | 30 |
| 55 to 57 | 6 | 15 |
| 58 to 60 | 2 | 6 |
| 61 to 63 | 7 | 12 |
| 64 to 66 | 5 | 4 |
| 67 to 69 | 15 | 10 |
| 70 to 72 | 8 | 14 |
| 73 to 75 | 11 | 36 |
| 76 to 78 | 6 | 37 |
| 79 to 81 | 10 | 16 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 18 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 8 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 21 |
| 91 to 93 | 1 | 24 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 13 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 10 |
| 100 to 102 | 8 | 8 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 3 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 24 |
| 109 to 110 | 1 | 6 |
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.
FIONA: ... Really, darling, that’s incredibly wicked of you! FIONA: Good evening, Miss Fry. MISS FRY: Good evening.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 24 are women's.
165 lines from women, 512 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
12 women and 20 men in the cast. 5 women and 18 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 33 of 697.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 68 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 23% of the words (2,191), men 77% (7,402). Women have 24% 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
2
Two men
46
Exhibit F: behind the camera
5 of the 10 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 38% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Oliver Hermanus (man)
- Written by
- Kazuo Ishiguro (man)
- Produced by
- Elizabeth Karlsen (woman), Stephen Woolley (man)
- Shot by
- Jamie D. Ramsay (man)
- Edited by
- Chris Wyatt (man)
- Music by
- Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch (woman)
- Production design by
- Helen Scott (woman)
- Costumes by
- Sandy Powell (woman)
- Cast by
- Kahleen Crawford (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
5 women, 9 men, 5 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 4 men, 7 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 1 men, 4 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 0 men, 3 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 4 men
-
Directing
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 47 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Aimee Lou Wood 28, Patsy Ferran 32, Zoe Boyle 33
Men
Hubert Burton 31, Alex Sharp 33, Tom Burke 41, Oliver Chris 43, Adrian Rawlins 64, Bill Nighy 72
Exhibit H: the money
It made 70% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $10 million
- Box office
- $7 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 110 scenes and 697 lines of dialogue. How the test works
