WOMAN WALKS AHEAD

Director: Susanna White

2018, 101, R

Screenwriter: Steven Knight

Cast: Jessica Chastain, Michael Greyeyes, Ciarán Hinds, Sam Rockwell, Chaske Spencer. (English and Lakota dialogue).

 

As Hollywood wakes up to a more honest portrayal of our history, it is still rare to find a woman’s perspective on events that shaped our society. Director Susanna White takes up the challenge, with the true story of Indian Rights activist Caroline Weldon, fiercely played by Jessica Chastain. Not long before the massacre at Wounded Knee, Weldon, a National Indian Defense Assn. member, traveled from Brooklyn to North Dakota to paint a portrait of Lakota holy man Sitting Bull (First Nation/Canadian Michael Greyeyes). Setting her on a crash course with local authorities (the excellent Ciarán Hinds and Sam Rockwell), Weldon spreads the news that the U.S government is trying to grab more land via the unspeakable Dawes Act.
“Michael Greyeyes, in particular, is a miracle of intelligence and dignity, and cinematographer Michael Eley’s vistas, shimmeringly shot in New Mexico, are stunning.” Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times.