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Passes the Bechdel test

Sense and Sensibility

1996. Directed by Ang Lee, written by Jane Austen and Emma Thompson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    12 women characters. 8 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 18 scenes out of 190.
  3. 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.

Poster for Sense and Sensibility

The film

When wealthy Mr. Dashwood dies in pre-Victorian England, he must leave the bulk of his estate to the son by his first marriage, which leaves his second wife and their three daughters Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret in dire straits financially. They are taken in by a kind cousin, but their lack of finances affects the marriageability of practical Elinor and romantic Marianne. When Elinor forms an attachment to the wealthy Edward Ferrars, his family disapproves and drives them apart and, although Mrs. Jennings tries to match the worthy (and rich) Colonel Brandon to her, Marianne finds the dashing and fiery John Willoughby more to her liking. Both relationships are sorely tried.

Released
26 Jan 1996
Genres
Drama, Romance
Rated
PG
IMDb
7.7 / 10
Metascore
84 / 100
Awards
Won 1 Oscar. 33 wins & 50 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Elinor 224 lines, woman
  2. Marianne 169 lines, woman
  3. Mrs Dashwood 106 lines, woman
  4. Mrs Jennings 79 lines, woman
  5. Edward 77 lines, man
  6. Colonel Brandon 54 lines
  7. Margaret 49 lines, woman
  8. Sir John 49 lines, man
  9. Lucy 45 lines, woman
  10. Willoughby 45 lines, man
Full cast, 25 people
  • Emma Thompson as Elinor Dashwood
  • Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood
  • Alan Rickman as Colonel Christopher Brandon
  • Hugh Grant as Edward Ferrars
  • Gemma Jones as Mrs. Dashwood
  • Greg Wise as John Willoughby
  • Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs. Jennings
  • Imogen Stubbs as Lucy Steele
  • Harriet Walter as Fanny Ferrars Dashwood
  • James Fleet as John Dashwood
  • Imelda Staunton as Charlotte Jennings Palmer
  • Hugh Laurie as Mr. Palmer
  • Emilie François as Margaret Dashwood
  • Robert Hardy as Sir John Middleton
  • Richard Lumsden as Robert Ferrars
  • Tom Wilkinson as Mr. Dashwood
  • Ian Brimble as Thomas
  • Isabelle Amyes as Betsy
  • Alexander John as Curate
  • Allan Mitchell as Pigeon
  • Josephine Gradwell as Maid to Mrs. Jennings
  • Lone Madsen as Miss Grey
  • Oliver Ford Davies as Doctor Harris
  • Eleanor McCready as Mrs. Bunting
  • Lindsay Doran as Maid Admitting Col. Brandon (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 190

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 4418
5 to 874
9 to 12103
13 to 1663
17 to 20191
21 to 2487
25 to 28118
29 to 321613
33 to 36480
37 to 401917
41 to 442017
45 to 4830
49 to 521713
53 to 56104
57 to 60580
61 to 64120
65 to 682811
69 to 722512
73 to 762911
77 to 801316
81 to 8440
85 to 88265
89 to 92595
93 to 96110
97 to 100190
101 to 104103
105 to 1083516
109 to 112253
113 to 116428
117 to 120150
121 to 124180
125 to 1281513
129 to 132131
133 to 13610
137 to 14020
141 to 14431
145 to 14800
149 to 15243
153 to 15621
157 to 16051
161 to 16421
165 to 16880
169 to 172160
173 to 176205
177 to 18050
181 to 184168
185 to 188105
189 to 19000

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.
MRS DASHWOOD: To be reduced to the condition of visitor in my own home! It is not to be borne, Elinor! ELINOR: Consider, Mamma! We have nowhere to go. MRS DASHWOOD: John and Fanny will descend from London at any moment, followed no doubt by cartloads of relatives ready to turn us out of our rooms one by … ELINOR: I shall start making inquiries for a new house at once. Until then we must try to bear their coming.
MARIANNE: Fanny wishes to know where the key for the silver cabinet is kept. ELINOR: Betsy has it, I think. What does Fanny want with the silver? MARIANNE: I can only presume she wants to count it. What are you doing? ELINOR: Presents for the servants. Have you seen Margaret? I am worried about her. She has taken to hiding in the oddest places.
ELINOR: Too expensive. We do not need four bedrooms, we can share. MARIANNE: This one, then? ELINOR: Marianne, we have only five hundred pounds a year. I will send out more inquiries today.
MARGARET: The Volga? ELINOR: Of course. The Volga, which, as you know, starts in...
MARGARET: I like them. MRS DASHWOOD: What generosity. ELINOR: Indeed. I am surprised they did not offer us their clothing.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 76 are women's.

749 lines from women, 237 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

12 women and 12 men in the cast. 8 women and 7 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,054. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 14 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 75% of the words (9,336), men 25% (3,178). Women have 76% 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

Exhibit F: behind the camera

6 of the 11 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 39% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Ang Lee (man)
Written by
Emma Thompson (woman)
From the novel by
Jane Austen (woman)
Produced by
Lindsay Doran (woman)
Shot by
Michael Coulter (man)
Edited by
Tim Squyres (man)
Music by
Patrick Doyle (man)
Production design by
Luciana Arrighi (woman)
Costumes by
Jenny Beavan (woman), John Bright (man)
Cast by
Michelle Guish (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Costume & Make-Up

    4 women, 1 men, 6 not listed

  • Production

    2 women, 3 men, 4 not listed

  • Sound

    3 women, 3 men, 3 not listed

  • Art

    2 women, 4 men

  • Other crew

    0 women, 2 men, 3 not listed

  • Directing

    0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed

  • Editing

    1 women, 2 men, 2 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 42 on average. Men: 39 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Kate Winslet 20, Imogen Stubbs 34, Emma Thompson 36, Harriet Walter 45, Gemma Jones 53, Elizabeth Spriggs 66

Men

Greg Wise 29, Hugh Grant 35, James Fleet 43, Alan Rickman 49

Exhibit H: the money

It made 8.4 times what it cost.

Budget
$16 million
Box office
$135 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 190 scenes and 1,054 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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