Passes the Bechdel test
The Substance
2024. Directed by Coralie Fargeat, written by Coralie Fargeat.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
32 women characters. 10 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 5 scenes out of 249. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Have you ever dreamed of a better version of yourself? You. Only better in every way. Seriously. You've got to try this new product. It's called the Substance. It changed my life. It generates another you. A new, younger, more beautiful, more perfect you. And there's only one rule: you share time. One week for you. One week for the new you. Seven days each. A perfect balance. Easy, right? If you respect the balance...what could possibly go wrong?
- Released
- 20 Sep 2024
- Genres
- Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.2 / 10
- Metascore
- 78 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 149 wins & 290 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Sue 93 lines, woman
- Elisabeth 90 lines, woman
- Harvey 60 lines, man
- Fred 20 lines, man
- Man 18 lines, man
- Alan 9 lines, man
- Boyfriend 9 lines, man
- Neighbor 9 lines
- Tv Host 9 lines, man
- Craig 8 lines
Full cast, 120 people
- Demi Moore as Elisabeth
- Margaret Qualley as Sue
- Dennis Quaid as Harvey
- Edward Hamilton-Clark as Fred
- Gore Abrams as Oliver
- Oscar Lesage as Troy
- Christian Erickson as Man at Diner
- Robin Greer as Male Nurse
- Tom Morton as Doctor
- Hugo Diego Garcia as Diego - Boyfriend
- Daniel Knight as Casting Director
- Jonathon Carley as Assistant Casting Director
- Jiselle Henderkott as Girl Auditioning / New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Akil Wingate as TV Host
- Vincent Colombe as Man in Suit #1 - Harvey's Office
- Billy Bentley as Man in Suit #2
- Lennard Ridsdale as Man in Suit #3
- Jordan Ford Silver as Assistant Director - Pump It Up Show
- Oscar Salem as 2nd Assistant Director - Pump It Up Show
- Viviane Bossina as Sue's Assistant
- Matthew Luret as Floor Runner
- Jana Bittnerová as Maria
- Olivier Raynal as Alan - 2nd Agent
- Tiffany Hofstetter as Stylist
- Nicolas Royer as Guy in the Elevator
- Nathan Rippy as Assistant Director - New Year's Eve Show
- Manon Arizmendi as Little Girl - New Year's Eve Show
- Virginie Kotlinski as Mother - New Year's Eve Show
- Brett Gillen as Director of Photography - New Year's Eve Show
- Charlotte Marquardt as Screaming Woman
- Léa Hengl as Screaming Woman
- Gaëlle Raymond as Screaming Woman
- Claire Lemaire as Screaming Woman
- Lila Boughoufala as Screaming Woman
- Aurélien Lorgnier as Screaming Man
- Ivan Sellier as Screaming Man
- Philip Schurer as Screaming Man
- Christian Bourmier as Shareholder
- Martin Graham as Shareholder
- Christian Bordeleau as Shareholder
- Patrick Hamel as Shareholder
- Didier Dhondt as Shareholder
- Jacques-Yves Dorges as Shareholder
- Jean-Claude Matthey as Shareholder
- Olivier Jarcin as Shareholder
- Jean-Luc Magneron as Shareholder
- Charlotte Murray as Allison - Diner Waitress
- Aaron Kahn as Greeting Person
- Gabriela Arnon as Greeting Person
- Nancy Josephson Lahoussine as Greeting Person
- Andrew Eldridge as Greeting Person
- Denise Powers as Greeting Person
- Bryan Jones as Greeting Person
- Adam Carage as Happy Birthday Person
- Maria McClurg as Happy Birthday Person
- Andrew Desmond as Happy Birthday Person
- Rebecca Lafont as Happy Birthday Person
- Laura Puech as Isabella
- Ryan Chidester as Stagehand
- Cécile Vogt as Elisabeth (Young) - Walk of Fame / Pump It Up Show Dancer
- Yannick Guérin as Clumsy Burger Guy - Walk of Fame
- Jean Miel as Worker Walk of Fame
- Paul Descoings as Worker Walk of Fame
- Benoit Lévêque as Worker Walk of Fame
- Arthur Molinet as Cocktail Bartender
- Manon Sachot as Cocktail Lounge Couple
- Bastien Jorelle as Cocktail Lounge Couple
- Kelly Hoarau as Female Assistant - Towel
- Michel Juskiewicz as George - Harvey's Friend
- Louise Greggory as Restaurant Waitress
- Christophe Sartirano as Guy Looking at Sue
- Florent Torres as Guy Looking at Sue
- Romain Caldeira as Billboard Technician
- Barthelemy Thomas as Billboard Technician
- Axel Baille as Photographer
- Ashley Lambert as Additional Voices (voice)
- Ranjani Brow as Additional Voices (voice)
- Chase Fein as Additional Voices (voice)
- Shane Sweet as Additional Voices (voice)
- William Calvert as Additional Voices (voice)
- Michael Corbett as Additional Voices (voice)
- Stephen Apostolina as Additional Voices (voice)
- Yann Bean as The Substance (voice)
- Audjyan Alcide as Pump It Up Show Dancer
- Jonathan Jenvrin as Pump It Up Show Dancer
- Mimi Maury as Pump It Up Show Dancer
- Amelye Solange as Pump It Up Show Dancer
- Kévin Table as Pump It Up Show Dancer
- Laura Boera as Sparkle Your Life Show Dancer
- Cissy Duc as Sparkle Your Life Show Dancer
- Sophie Mercier as Sparkle Your Life Show Dancer
- Marie Valton as Sparkle Your Life Show Dancer
- Katrina Budzynski as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Alicia Maury as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Megane Adamik as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Annalisa Pagnotta as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Maelle Dantigny as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Aleksandra Kedzierska Fontaine as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Pauline Sagetat as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Agustina Fitzsimons as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Elena Shcheglova as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Eve Marchant as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Lola Donati as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Kate Matthews as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Ophélie Jonard as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Pauline Richard as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Laureen Cappelliez as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Daria Panchenko as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Delphine Beaulieu as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Victoria Brun as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Cara Chapman as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Katharine Matthews as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Alexandra Faget as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Clémence Juville as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Margot L'Entete as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Hillary Sukhonos as New Year's Eve Show Dancer
- Matthew Géczy as Bob Haswell (uncredited)
- Namory Bakayoko as Silhouette (uncredited)
- Gregory Defleur as Happy Birthday Person (uncredited)
- Coralie Fargeat as (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 6 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 249
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 6 | 13 | 12 |
| 7 to 12 | 9 | 20 |
| 13 to 18 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 to 24 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 to 30 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 to 36 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 to 42 | 10 | 20 |
| 43 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 54 | 1 | 0 |
| 55 to 60 | 1 | 6 |
| 61 to 66 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 to 72 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 to 78 | 0 | 0 |
| 79 to 84 | 3 | 0 |
| 85 to 90 | 2 | 0 |
| 91 to 96 | 6 | 5 |
| 97 to 102 | 2 | 0 |
| 103 to 108 | 1 | 0 |
| 109 to 114 | 3 | 3 |
| 115 to 120 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 126 | 13 | 1 |
| 127 to 132 | 1 | 2 |
| 133 to 138 | 0 | 0 |
| 139 to 144 | 7 | 13 |
| 145 to 150 | 12 | 9 |
| 151 to 156 | 0 | 0 |
| 157 to 162 | 20 | 1 |
| 163 to 168 | 2 | 1 |
| 169 to 174 | 12 | 18 |
| 175 to 180 | 14 | 2 |
| 181 to 186 | 27 | 10 |
| 187 to 192 | 19 | 6 |
| 193 to 198 | 0 | 3 |
| 199 to 204 | 6 | 7 |
| 205 to 210 | 1 | 0 |
| 211 to 216 | 8 | 0 |
| 217 to 222 | 2 | 4 |
| 223 to 228 | 2 | 6 |
| 229 to 234 | 6 | 3 |
| 235 to 240 | 0 | 1 |
| 241 to 246 | 2 | 5 |
| 247 to 249 | 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.
ELISABETH: Hello Maria. MARIA: Hello Ma'am.
NEW-ELISABETH: I'm... NEW-ELISABETH: I'm... SUE: I'm... SUE. SUE: ...SUE.
ALLISON: Whipped cream? ELISABETH: Uh...yes... ELISABETH: ...Did you follow me here?
SUE: No, I'm fine, let's get right back to it! Ok, third time's a charm, this is it! SUE: Hi everybody! I'm Sue and it's time to pump it up! Are you ready? Let's go! SUE: Can I have my dressing gown? SUE'S ASSISTANT: ...sorry it's in your dressing room...
SUE: Yes that's right. ELISABETH: "Yes that's right"
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 57 are women's.
211 lines from women, 158 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
32 women and 59 men in the cast. 10 women and 15 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
A woman speaks the first line.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 10 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 46% of the words (1,632), men 54% (1,915). Women have 57% 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
9
Two men
2
Exhibit F: behind the camera
6 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 45% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Coralie Fargeat (woman)
- Written by
- Coralie Fargeat (woman)
- Produced by
- Coralie Fargeat (woman), Eric Fellner (man), Tim Bevan (man)
- Shot by
- Benjamin Kračun (man)
- Edited by
- Jérôme Eltabet (gender not listed), Coralie Fargeat (woman), Valentin Féron (man)
- Music by
- Raffertie (man)
- Production design by
- Stanislas Reydellet (man)
- Costumes by
- Emmanuelle Youchnovski (woman)
- Cast by
- Laure Cochener (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 5 men, 15 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 3 men, 15 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 2 men, 18 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 4 men, 13 not listed
-
Other crew
3 women, 6 men, 10 not listed
-
Sound
6 women, 7 men, 5 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 3 men, 6 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 1 men, 6 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 45 on average. Men: 51 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Margaret Qualley 29, Demi Moore 61
Men
Oscar Lesage 27, Gore Abrams 37, Tom Morton 43, Dennis Quaid 70, Christian Erickson 78
Exhibit H: the money
It made 4.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $17.5 million
- Box office
- $77.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 249 scenes and 412 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
