''Woman Walks Ahead'' is a 2017 American biographical drama Western film directed by Susanna White and written by

Steven Knight Steven Knight (born 1 April 1959) is a British screenwriter, film director and film producer. Knight wrote the screenplays for the films ''Closed Circuit'', '' Dirty Pretty Things'', and ''Eastern Promises'', and also wrote and directed the f ...

. The film is the story of

Caroline Weldon Caroline Weldon (born Susanna Karolina Faesch; December 4, 1844March 15, 1921) was a Swiss-American artist and activist with the National Indian Defense Association. Weldon became a confidante and the personal secretary to the Lakota Sioux Ind ...

(

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. ''Time'' ...

), a portrait painter who travels from New York City to the Dakotas in 1890 to paint a portrait of

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock I ...

( Michael Greyeyes). Chaske Spencer and

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

also star. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival September 10, 2017. It was released through DirecTV Cinema on May 31, 2018, before being released in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

on June 29, 2018, by A24.

Premise

Caroline Weldon, a Swiss-American portrait painter, travels from Brooklyn, New York to the Dakotas in the 1890s to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull. She becomes embroiled in the Lakota people's struggle over the rights to their land.

Cast

, painter and confidante to Sitting Bull * Michael Greyeyes as

as Colonel Silas Grove * Ciarán Hinds as James McLaughlin, a US Indian agent *

Michael Nouri Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on ''The O.C.'', Phil Grey on ''Damages'', Caleb Cortlandt on ''All My Children'', Eli David in ...

as Karl Valentine * Chaske Spencer as Chaska, a local lawman * Bill Camp as

General Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...

*Rulan Tangen as Susan McLaughlin *Rachel Singer as Dry Goods Assistant * Louisa Krause as Loretta *Lyle Sandoval as Tracker

Production

On February 3, 2016, it was reported that

was in talks to play

's confidante in ''Woman Walks Ahead'', directed by Susanna White. On September 14, 2016, Michael Greyeyes,

, Ciarán Hinds, Chaske Spencer, and Bill Camp joined the cast, with principal photography having begun in New Mexico.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2017. Shortly after, A24 and DirecTV Cinema acquired distribution rights to the film. Its U.S. premiere was at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2018. It was released through DirecTV Cinema on May 31, 2018, before being released in a

on June 29, 2018.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 59% based on 44 reviews, and an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Woman Walks Ahead'' gets some extra mileage out of watchable work from Jessica Chastain and Michael Greyeyes, but uneven pacing and two-dimensional characters undermine their efforts." On Metacritic, which assigns a rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Despite mixed reviews, Michael Greyeyes received critical acclaim for his portrayal of

. '' The New York Times'' critic Jeannette Catsoulis called his performance "a miracle of intelligence and dignity".

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...

contributor Susan Wloszczyna raved about his performance, calling it "the most subtle, soulful, and believable". '' Los Angeles Times'' and '' Village Voice'' critics described his presence as captivating as “wry wit and quiet gravity”, while the latter described his performance as "stirring".

References

External links

* {{Steven Knight 2017 films American biographical drama films British biographical drama films 2017 biographical drama films 2010s English-language films Lakota-language films Films directed by Susanna White Films scored by George Fenton Films with screenplays by Steven Knight Films about Native Americans Cultural depictions of Sitting Bull Films shot in New Mexico A24 (company) films 2017 drama films Films set in the 1890s Films set in South Dakota Films set in North Dakota 2017 multilingual films American multilingual films British multilingual films 2018 Western (genre) films 2010s American films 2010s British films