Passes the Bechdel test
The Ice Storm
1997. Directed by Ang Lee, written by Rick Moody and James Schamus.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
18 women characters. 11 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 7 scenes out of 187. -
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
During the 1973 Thanksgiving weekend, the Hoods are - relationship-wise, skidding out-of-control, isolated from each other; Benjamin reels from drink-to-drink, His wife, Elena's losing patience with Ben's incessant lies. Home for the holidays, their son, Paul, heads into Manhattan, in search of a rich girl from his prep school. Wendy, the teenage daughter, roams the neighborhood, exploring the liquor and lingerie of her friends' parents, looking for something - anything - new. Then, an ice storm hits, and their problems seem inconsequential, and nothing will ever be the same.
- Released
- 26 Nov 1997
- Genres
- Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 72 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 BAFTA Award. 9 wins & 33 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ben 172 lines, man
- Elena 130 lines, woman
- Wendy 101 lines, woman
- Paul 82 lines, man
- Janey 42 lines, woman
- Sandy 41 lines, man
- Mikey 33 lines, man
- Jim 30 lines, man
- Francis 24 lines, man
- Libbets 21 lines, woman
Full cast, 45 people
- Kevin Kline as Ben Hood
- Joan Allen as Elena Hood
- Sigourney Weaver as Janey Carver
- Jamey Sheridan as Jim Carver
- Christina Ricci as Wendy Hood
- Tobey Maguire as Paul Hood
- Elijah Wood as Mikey Carver
- Adam Hann-Byrd as Sandy Carver
- Michael Cumpsty as Philip Edwards
- Katie Holmes as Libbets Casey
- Henry Czerny as George Clair
- David Krumholtz as Francis Davenport
- Kate Burton as Dorothy Franklin
- William Cain as Ted Shackley
- Maia Danziger as Mrs. Gadd
- Michael Egerman as Pharmacist
- Christine Farrell as Marie Earle
- Glenn Fitzgerald as Neil Conrad
- Allison Janney as Dot Halford
- Jonathan Freeman as Ted Franklin
- Barbara Garrick as Weather Reporter
- Dennis Gagomiros as Stephen Earle
- John Benjamin Hickey as Mark Boland
- Tom Flagg as Train Conductor
- Byron Jennings as Pierce Sawyer
- Miles Marek as Mr. Gadd
- Colette Kilroy as Sari Steele
- Ivan Kronenfeld as Jack Moellering
- Daniel McDonald as Weatherman
- Donna Mitchell as Maria Conrad
- Barbara Neal as Helen Wentworth
- Nancy Opel as Claudia White
- Larry Pine as Dave Gorman
- Wendy Scott as Pharmacy Attendant
- Marcell Rosenblatt as Mikey's Teacher
- Evelyn Solann as Woman in Pharmacy
- Jessica Stone as Marge
- Sarah Thompson as Beth
- Scott Wentworth as Paul's Teacher
- Robert Westenberg as Rob Halford
- Colleen Camp as Dr. Pasmier (uncredited)
- Bill McIntyre as Libbet's Doorman (uncredited)
- Joe O'Connor as Marty (uncredited)
- Courtney Peldon as Billie (uncredited)
- Bettina Skye as Drug Store Clerk (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 187
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 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 to 12 | 8 | 15 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 12 |
| 17 to 20 | 29 | 28 |
| 21 to 24 | 5 | 6 |
| 25 to 28 | 11 | 15 |
| 29 to 32 | 0 | 12 |
| 33 to 36 | 9 | 20 |
| 37 to 40 | 2 | 3 |
| 41 to 44 | 2 | 4 |
| 45 to 48 | 25 | 6 |
| 49 to 52 | 21 | 34 |
| 53 to 56 | 0 | 5 |
| 57 to 60 | 11 | 0 |
| 61 to 64 | 3 | 0 |
| 65 to 68 | 6 | 4 |
| 69 to 72 | 4 | 1 |
| 73 to 76 | 6 | 5 |
| 77 to 80 | 2 | 1 |
| 81 to 84 | 11 | 13 |
| 85 to 88 | 2 | 4 |
| 89 to 92 | 7 | 27 |
| 93 to 96 | 1 | 4 |
| 97 to 100 | 8 | 12 |
| 101 to 104 | 1 | 2 |
| 105 to 108 | 16 | 22 |
| 109 to 112 | 12 | 17 |
| 113 to 116 | 9 | 1 |
| 117 to 120 | 13 | 10 |
| 121 to 124 | 6 | 29 |
| 125 to 128 | 6 | 11 |
| 129 to 132 | 7 | 9 |
| 133 to 136 | 8 | 19 |
| 137 to 140 | 10 | 11 |
| 141 to 144 | 6 | 5 |
| 145 to 148 | 25 | 20 |
| 149 to 152 | 5 | 4 |
| 153 to 156 | 1 | 5 |
| 157 to 160 | 6 | 9 |
| 161 to 164 | 11 | 7 |
| 165 to 168 | 0 | 1 |
| 169 to 172 | 2 | 3 |
| 173 to 176 | 2 | 1 |
| 177 to 180 | 2 | 1 |
| 181 to 184 | 6 | 5 |
| 185 to 187 | 2 | 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.
JANEY: Please don't. ELENA: It's not a bother. JANEY: I insist. Don't touch them. ELENA: Oh.
ELENA: Thank you Janey. DOROTHY: It was lovely!
ELENA: Thanks again. For the dinner. JANEY: Thanks for eating it. I don't know why I even pretend I can cook. ELENA: I used to know how to cook. JANEY: It's not like we're too busy.
JANEY: Here you are. ELENA: Thanks for the lift. If the bike's any bother-- JANEY: None at all. I'll leave it in front of your garage. Happy Thanksgiving.
ELENA: We're going to the Halford's. The number's on the calendar in the kitchen. We should be home around WENDY: Is it a big party? A big neighborhood party? ELENA: I suppose. Why? WENDY: Just curious. If there's a problem, I guess I'll just call you there to interrupt.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 43 are women's.
329 lines from women, 436 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
18 women and 23 men in the cast. 11 women and 18 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 15 of 793.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 37 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 38% of the words (3,272), men 62% (5,408). Women have 43% 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
18
Two men
31
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ang Lee (man)
- Written by
- James Schamus (man)
- From the novel by
- Rick Moody (man)
- Produced by
- Ted Hope (man), James Schamus (man), Ang Lee (man)
- Shot by
- Frederick Elmes (man)
- Edited by
- Tim Squyres (man)
- Music by
- Mychael Danna (man)
- Production design by
- Mark Friedberg (man)
- Costumes by
- Carol Oditz (woman)
- Cast by
- Avy Kaufman (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
1 women, 9 men, 14 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 15 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
3 women, 5 men, 10 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 5 men, 4 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 1 men, 5 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 31 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Christina Ricci 17, Katie Holmes 18, Joan Allen 41, Sigourney Weaver 47
Men
Adam Hann-Byrd 15, Elijah Wood 16, Tobey Maguire 22, Michael Cumpsty 37, Jamey Sheridan 46, Kevin Kline 49
Exhibit H: the money
It made 89% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $18 million
- Box office
- $16 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 187 scenes and 793 lines of dialogue. How the test works
