Passes the Bechdel test

Strawberry Mansion

Name: Strawberry Mansion
Released: 2021

2021. Directed by Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney, written by Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
4 women characters. 8 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 125.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

The film

In 2035, everyone must record their dreams and submit them to the government for review. Certain dream elements are taxed. James Preble is a Dream Auditor who is sent to investigate 80-year-old Arabella Isadora who is delinquent in submitting her dream recordings. She lives in the country at Strawberry Mansion. After parking his car at a roadside space, Preble walks across the grassy fields to Arabella's door. She invites him inside after she has removed a helmet adorned with electrical components and colored lights. She is a gracious hostess, offering him an ice cream cone and asks him to call her Bella. As Preble wanders around the house, he comes upon a room with shelves that are stuffed with 2000 old VHS tapes of her dreams. She has recorded them as required, albeit on tape instead of chips, but never submitted them. As he visits with Bella, Preble learns that not only are the dreams taxed but now they carry advertisements, too. That is why he so often buys a bucket of Kelly's Chicken and Red Rocket soda. Bella knows all this because her son Peter is the CEO of the largest advertising agency that is behind the scheme. Bella presents Preble with a helmet like hers. It will block the advertisements from his dreams. The more Preble reviews Bella's dream tapes, the more he falls in love with her younger self. Bella dies peacefully in her sleep which brings Peter home. When he finds out that Preble knows about his advertising ploy, he sets out to kill him. He knocks Preble unconscious and sets the house on fire. Preble has dreams in his unconscious state where Bella is trying to help him wake and escape the burning building.

Released: 22 Jul 2021
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
IMDb: 6.5 / 10
Metascore: 74 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 9 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Preble 233 lines, man
Bella 96 lines, woman
Young Bella 81 lines, woman
Buddy 50 lines, man
Peter 31 lines, man
Captain Preble 15 lines, man
Fast Food Robot 10 lines
Frog Waiter 10 lines, man
Richard Rat 8 lines, man
Ogre Brian 7 lines

Full cast, 16 people

Penny Fuller as Arabella “Bella” Isadora
Kentucker Audley as James Preble
Grace Glowicki as Young Bella
Reed Birney as Peter Bloom
Linas Phillips as Buddy
Constance Shulman as Martha
Albert Birney as Frog Waiter / Blue Demon
Ephraim Birney as Brian
Lawrence Worthington as Father
Shannon Heartwood as Richard Rat
Matt Heartwood as Marcus Rat
Mack Reyes as Stowaway / Tape People
Sarah Winshall as Tape People
James Belfer as Tape People
Jacklyn Boulduan as Tape People
Ben Fisler as Farewell Party Person

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 125

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	2
4 to 6	0	11
7 to 9	0	0
10 to 12	0	0
13 to 15	36	30
16 to 18	7	8
19 to 21	4	2
22 to 24	5	4
25 to 27	0	3
28 to 30	10	25
31 to 33	13	13
34 to 36	28	23
37 to 39	1	17
40 to 42	10	9
43 to 45	0	2
46 to 48	0	0
49 to 51	0	0
52 to 54	0	15
55 to 57	0	3
58 to 60	3	32
61 to 63	0	0
64 to 66	0	5
67 to 69	8	11
70 to 72	16	26
73 to 75	0	10
76 to 78	1	15
79 to 81	0	1
82 to 84	1	2
85 to 87	22	18
88 to 90	13	8
91 to 93	5	20
94 to 96	0	7
97 to 99	0	18
100 to 102	8	7
103 to 105	3	12
106 to 108	6	26
109 to 111	4	6
112 to 114	0	0
115 to 117	0	1
118 to 120	0	0
121 to 123	0	0
124 to 125	0	0

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: Probably just the pipes. YOUNG BELLA: Do you want to kiss me?

BELLA: Well at least sit with me while I finish. BELLA: It looks like there will be a storm tonight. YOUNG BELLA: I need to see you again.

YOUNG BELLA: Well when is it ever going to feel right?! YOUNG BELLA: Well what are we supposed to do now? BELLA: You have to get to the Witch!

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 34 are women's.

204 lines from women, 392 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

4 women and 5 men in the cast. 8 women and 11 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 24 of 616. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 48 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 35% of the words (1,768), men 65% (3,218). Women have 34% 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

2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Albert Birney (man), Kentucker Audley (man)
Written by: Albert Birney (man), Kentucker Audley (man)
Produced by: Taylor Shung (gender not listed), Sarah Winshall (woman), Emma Hannaway (gender not listed), Matisse Rifai (gender not listed)
Shot by: Tyler Davis (man)
Edited by: Kentucker Audley (man), Albert Birney (man)
Music by: Dan Deacon (man)
Production design by: Becca Brooks Morrin (woman)