Woman Walks Ahead

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Woman Walks Ahead

R

2018

1h 42m

Western

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

56%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

A headstrong New York painter embarks on a dangerous journey to meet Sitting Bull but must face off with an Army officer intent on war with the Native Americans.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Roxana Hadadi

Pajiba

Jul 6, 2018

Susanna White and Jessica Chastain's Woman Walks Ahead is well-meaning but bland, another white savior among natives story.

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Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Jul 2, 2018

2/4

As a New York widow who travels to South Dakota in 1889 to paint Sitting Bull, the stellar Jessica Chastain can't save this Hollywoodized frontier biopic from grave historical inaccuracy.

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Tomris Laffly

Time Out

Jul 2, 2018

3/5

Jessica Chastain and Michael Greyeyes bring smarts and chemistry to this worthy Western.

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Cate Marquis

AWFJ.org

Oct 12, 2021

Once again, Chastain lands a role as a strong woman carving out her own way in the world.

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Anne Brodie

What She Said

Oct 12, 2021

There's much to learn and watching the relationship between Sitting Bull and Weldon grow is a profound thing.

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Betsy Bozdech

AWFJ.org

Oct 12, 2021

One of the most powerful parts of Weldon's story is her realization that she, like most white Americans, had literally everything to learn about the Lakota people, their traditions, and their values.

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alan G

@agenser Mar 25, 2026

Already done as Dances with wolves. Just as woke just as bad.

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Mike W

@MikeW269 Mar 24, 2026

I thought the movie was great, but with the ever present finality which history has taught pulling it down a little, Greyeyes played Sitting Bull to perfection in my white eyes.

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Katy H.

@Setsukokate Jul 22, 2025

Michael Greyeyes should of won and Oscar for his performance, I’ll never understand why Jessica did not promote this more, it was a well written story with a great woman director. It’s sad how much Hollywood has jipped Michael Grey eyes. He’s truly a talented actor that needs to be looked at more from Hollywood and be allowed to do much more bigger leading roles. I feel like Hollywood’s really missing out on this great man.

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Ashley H

@ashleyhobgood87 May 22, 2023

Woman Walks Ahead is a decent film. It is about a portrait painter from 1890s Brooklyn who travels to Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull. Jessica Chastain and Louise Krause give good performances. The script is a little slow in places. Susanna White did alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama and history.

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May 16, 2022

I enjoyed this movie and the story it told about painter Catherine Weldon among the Sioux Indians and Sitting Bull leading up to the Massacre of Wounded Knee which to this day is a black mark on the history books for the American Cavalry.

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Jun 26, 2021

An touching drama based on historical events with a skilled cast and inspiring locations. Although I was disappointed to see New Mexico as a stand-in for North Dakota. I would recommend and tire of reading comments from "Top Critics" who criticize fictional dramas based on historical characters as if they were non-fiction biographies. This is not a documentary. In this time of Covid, maybe I like a hint of romance mixed with history. I may not be a "Top Critic", but I have been watching films for over 50 years.

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Susanna White

Director

Jessica Chastain

Catherine Weldon

Michael Greyeyes

Sitting Bull

Ciarán Hinds

James McLaughlin

Sam Rockwell

Colonel Silas Grove

Chaske Spencer

Chaska

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Synopsis

A headstrong New York painter embarks on a dangerous journey to meet Sitting Bull but must face off with an Army officer intent on war with the Native Americans.

Director: Susanna White
Producer: Andrea Calderwood, Marshall Herskovitz, Erika Olde, Richard Solomon, Edward Zwick
Screenwriter: Steven Knight
Distributor: A24
Production Co: The Bedford Falls Company, Potboiler Productions, Black Bicycle Entertainment, Lipsync Productions
Rating: R (Brief Violence and Language)
Genre: Western, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 26, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $34.5K
Runtime: 1h 42m

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