Fails the Bechdel test
The Limey
1999. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Lem Dobbs.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
9 women characters. 2 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
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Fresh out of prison on his latest stint inside in being a career criminal in his native Britain, Wilson, an uneducated Cockney, heads to Los Angeles in learning that his young adult daughter Jennifer died in a car accident there, her car careening over a cliff into a fiery blaze at the bottom. Despite not being a present father because of his prison stints, Wilson is certain in knowing Jennifer that her death was no accident and that someone was behind it. With information from a couple of Jennifer's friends who she met in her pursuit of being an actress, fellow acting student Ed, who works in a restaurant kitchen, and Elaine, one of her acting coaches, Wilson learns more about Jennifer's life in Los Angeles and becomes certain that the person behind her death is the older wealthy man she had been living with, 1960s rock music promoter Terry Valentine, while not knowing the reason why he would have wanted her dead. Thus begins a battle not only to the death but of wits between Wilson and Valentine, the former who not only wants to discover the reason for Valentine killing Jennifer before Wilson in turn kills him, but who wants Valentine to know in return why he is after him. Getting in the middle is Valentine's similarly upscale security consultant, Jim Avery, whose job it is not only to protect Valentine from whatever harm or threat exists, but to ensure that both he and Valentine appear clean to the outside world in their criminal endeavors.
- Released
- 04 Aug 1999
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Mystery
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 73 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 9 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Wilson 240 lines, man
- Elaine 123 lines, woman
- Valentine 87 lines, man
- Ed 85 lines, man
- Stacy 50 lines, man
- Adhara 41 lines, woman
- Avery 34 lines, man
- Uncle John 23 lines, man
- Feather 13 lines, man
- Supervisor 13 lines, man
Full cast, 41 people
- Terence Stamp as Wilson
- Lesley Ann Warren as Elaine
- Luis Guzmán as Eduardo Roel
- Barry Newman as Jim Avery
- Joe Dallesandro as Uncle John
- Nicky Katt as Stacy the Hitman
- Peter Fonda as Terry Valentine
- Amelia Heinle as Adhara
- Melissa George as Jennifer 'Jenny' Wilson
- William Lucking as Warehouse Foreman
- Matthew Kimbrough as Tom Johannson
- John Robotham as Rick (Valentine's Bodyguard)
- Steve Heinze as Larry (Valentine's Bodyguard)
- Nancy Lenehan as Lady on Plane
- Wayne Péré as Pool Hall Creep
- Bill Duke as Head DEA Agent (uncredited)
- John Cothran as DEA Guy
- Ousaun Elam as DEA Guy
- Dwayne McGee as DEA Guy
- Brian Bennet as DEA Guy
- Allan Graf as Gordon (Valentine's Head Bodyguard)
- Carl Ciarfalio as Warehouse Thug
- George Marshall Ruge as Warehouse Thug
- Lincoln Simonds as Warehouse Thug
- Rainbow Borden as Warehouse Sweeper
- Michaela Gallo as Young Jennifer
- Jose Perez as Teen Gun Dealer
- Alex Perez as Teen Gun Dealer
- Brandon Keener as Excited Guy
- Jim Jenkins as Party Guy
- Mark Gerschwin as Party Guy #2
- Johnny Sanchez as Valet
- Brooke Marie Bridges as Child Actress
- Randy Lowell as Director
- Eva Rodriguez as Ed's Sister
- James Earl Olmedo as Ed's Nephew
- Jamie Lin Olmedo as Ed's Niece
- Clement Blake as Pool Hall Bartender
- Tom Pardoe as Party Bartender
- David Ward as Edward Ford (Cab Driver) (uncredited)
- Carol White as Wilson's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 126
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 | 6 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 55 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 53 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 21 |
| 22 to 24 | 20 | 35 |
| 25 to 27 | 13 | 12 |
| 28 to 30 | 29 | 27 |
| 31 to 33 | 22 | 30 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 16 |
| 37 to 39 | 4 | 7 |
| 40 to 42 | 3 | 0 |
| 43 to 45 | 1 | 43 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 3 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 3 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 5 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 18 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 16 |
| 67 to 69 | 6 | 11 |
| 70 to 72 | 19 | 21 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 23 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 10 |
| 79 to 81 | 11 | 10 |
| 82 to 84 | 7 | 8 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 41 |
| 88 to 90 | 6 | 7 |
| 91 to 93 | 6 | 7 |
| 94 to 96 | 3 | 27 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 29 |
| 100 to 102 | 4 | 4 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 0 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 3 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 0 |
| 112 to 114 | 3 | 6 |
| 115 to 117 | 6 | 11 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 5 |
| 121 to 123 | 1 | 2 |
| 124 to 126 | 10 | 24 |
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, 23 are women's.
174 lines from women, 599 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
9 women and 31 men in the cast. 2 women and 12 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 140 of 785.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 139 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 21% of the words (1,748), men 79% (6,743). Women have 23% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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
3 of the 10 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 29% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Steven Soderbergh (man)
- Written by
- Lem Dobbs (man)
- Produced by
- Scott Kramer (man), John Hardy (man)
- Shot by
- Edward Lachman (man)
- Edited by
- Sarah Flack (woman)
- Music by
- Cliff Martinez (man)
- Production design by
- Gary Frutkoff (man)
- Costumes by
- Louise Frogley (woman)
- Cast by
- Debra Zane (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
4 women, 10 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 12 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
2 women, 7 men, 6 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 7 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 4 men, 6 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 34 on average. Men: 53 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Melissa George 23, Amelia Heinle 26, Lesley Ann Warren 53
Men
Nicky Katt 29, Luis Guzmán 43, Joe Dallesandro 50, William Lucking 58, Peter Fonda 59, Terence Stamp 61, Barry Newman 68
Exhibit G: the money
It made 32% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $10 million
- Box office
- $3.2 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 126 scenes and 785 lines of dialogue. How the test works
