Passes the Bechdel test
Poor Things
2023. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, written by Tony McNamara and Alasdair Gray.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
15 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 8 scenes out of 142. -
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.
The film
From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman crafted by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter's protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella experiences sexual trials and a desire for equality.
- Released
- 22 Dec 2023
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 88 / 100
- Awards
- Won 4 Oscars. 121 wins & 427 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Bella 329 lines, woman
- Duncan 136 lines, man
- Baxter 119 lines, man
- Max 110 lines, man
- Alfie 38 lines, man
- Swiney 33 lines, woman
- Harry 21 lines, man
- Toinette 19 lines, woman
- Prim 11 lines, woman
- Martha 10 lines, woman
Full cast, 53 people
- Emma Stone as Bella Baxter
- Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn
- Willem Dafoe as Godwin Baxter
- Ramy Youssef as Max McCandles
- Christopher Abbott as Alfie Blessington
- Suzy Bemba as Toinette
- Jerrod Carmichael as Harry Astley
- Kathryn Hunter as Swiney
- Vicki Pepperdine as Mrs. Prim
- Hanna Schygulla as Martha Von Kurtzroc
- Margaret Qualley as Felicity
- Jack Barton as Fop 1
- Charlie Hiscock as Fop 2
- Attila Dobai as Hapless Student
- Emma Hindle as Woman with Kid in London Street
- Anders Grundberg as Kid in London Street
- Attila Kecskeméthy as Burly Guy
- Jucimar Barbosa as Lisbon Doorman
- Carminho as Fado Singing Woman
- Angela Paula Stander as Arguing Woman
- Gustavo Gomes as Arguing Man
- Kate Handford as Kitty
- Owen Good as Gerald
- Zen Joshua Poisson as Lisbon Crying Baby
- Vivienne Soan as Duchess
- Jerskin Fendrix as Lisbon Restaurant Musician
- István Göz as Winking Man
- Bruna Asdorian as Lisbon Dancing Woman
- Tamás Szabó Sipos as Lisbon Dancing Man
- Tom Stourton as Steward
- Mascuud Dahir as Gangplank Steward 1
- Miles Jovian as Gangplank Steward 2
- Jeremy Wheeler as Ship Officer
- János Geréb as Dog Owner
- Patrick de Valette as Chapelle
- Raphaël Thiéry as Saveur the Butcher
- Boris Gillot as Mersault
- Dorina Kovács as Swiney's Grandchild
- Yorgos Stefanakos as Georges
- Hubert Benhamdine as Handsome Priest
- Laurent Borel as Crab Man
- Gábor Patay as Hooks for Hands Guy
- Laurent Winkler as Paris Medical School Surgeon
- Andrew Hefler as Leg Humping Guy
- Damien Bonnard as Father
- Noah Breton as Son 1
- Donovan Fouassier as Son 2
- Wayne Brett as Priest
- John Locke as David, Alfie's Butler
- Keeley Forsyth as Allison, Alfie's Maid
- David Bromley as Alfie's Doctor
- Celina Schleicher as Swiney Woman #1 (uncredited)
- Roderick Hill as Man in Park (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 1% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 142
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 | 1 | 11 |
| 7 to 9 | 8 | 29 |
| 10 to 12 | 3 | 3 |
| 13 to 15 | 1 | 4 |
| 16 to 18 | 11 | 12 |
| 19 to 21 | 6 | 7 |
| 22 to 24 | 10 | 19 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 2 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 to 33 | 12 | 11 |
| 34 to 36 | 1 | 15 |
| 37 to 39 | 4 | 10 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 13 |
| 43 to 45 | 7 | 7 |
| 46 to 48 | 19 | 22 |
| 49 to 51 | 2 | 8 |
| 52 to 54 | 11 | 13 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 1 |
| 58 to 60 | 14 | 13 |
| 61 to 63 | 4 | 7 |
| 64 to 66 | 12 | 11 |
| 67 to 69 | 8 | 4 |
| 70 to 72 | 2 | 8 |
| 73 to 75 | 4 | 4 |
| 76 to 78 | 31 | 27 |
| 79 to 81 | 10 | 12 |
| 82 to 84 | 3 | 5 |
| 85 to 87 | 5 | 4 |
| 88 to 90 | 3 | 4 |
| 91 to 93 | 4 | 4 |
| 94 to 96 | 14 | 20 |
| 97 to 99 | 22 | 6 |
| 100 to 102 | 21 | 14 |
| 103 to 105 | 38 | 3 |
| 106 to 108 | 10 | 9 |
| 109 to 111 | 8 | 8 |
| 112 to 114 | 12 | 20 |
| 115 to 117 | 20 | 1 |
| 118 to 120 | 2 | 18 |
| 121 to 123 | 15 | 6 |
| 124 to 126 | 6 | 5 |
| 127 to 129 | 21 | 30 |
| 130 to 132 | 3 | 3 |
| 133 to 135 | 9 | 14 |
| 136 to 138 | 6 | 13 |
| 139 to 141 | 6 | 8 |
| 142 to 142 | 7 | 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.
BELLA: Mrs Prim. Bella discover happy when she want. PRIM: Uh huh. BELLA: You are a sour face, but I fix you. PRIM: I-
KITTY: Are you enjoying Lisbon Bella? BELLA: Delighted.
MARTHA: We are all agreed on that. And in answer to your enquiry on my hand. Occasionally. Yes. BELLA: That is much reassuring news. We shall all dine together.
SWINEY: A prime cut. Et pour vous? SWINEY: Bella. TOINETTE: Say `formidable' at the end. House rules. Poor Things - Final Cut 65.
BELLA: Very inelegant work. TOINETTE: This is what you do when you're homesick? Bella nods.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 47 are women's.
416 lines from women, 471 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
15 women and 38 men in the cast. 9 women and 15 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 900.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 21 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 48% of the words (4,524), men 52% (4,913). Women have 47% 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
25
Two men
35
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 32% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Yorgos Lanthimos (man)
- Written by
- Tony McNamara (man)
- From the novel by
- Alasdair Gray (man)
- Produced by
- Yorgos Lanthimos (man), Emma Stone (woman), Andrew Lowe (man), Ed Guiney (man)
- Shot by
- Robbie Ryan (man)
- Edited by
- Yorgos Mavropsaridis (man)
- Music by
- Jerskin Fendrix (man)
- Production design by
- Shona Heath (woman), James Price (man)
- Costumes by
- Holly Waddington (woman)
- Cast by
- Dixie Chassay (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
4 women, 12 men, 32 not listed
-
Production
8 women, 9 men, 15 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 11 men, 14 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 3 men, 15 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 3 men, 1 non-binary, 17 not listed
-
Other crew
5 women, 5 men, 11 not listed
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 4 men, 9 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 1 men, 10 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Non-binary
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 53 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Suzy Bemba 23, Emma Stone 35, Vicki Pepperdine 62, Kathryn Hunter 66, Hanna Schygulla 79
Men
Ramy Youssef 32, Jerrod Carmichael 36, Christopher Abbott 37, Mark Ruffalo 56, Willem Dafoe 68
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $35 million
- Box office
- $118 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 142 scenes and 900 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
