Woman Walks Ahead proves good intentions don’t make a good movie

Woman Walks Ahead is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Susanna White and written by Steven Knight. The film is the story of Catherine Weldon (Jessica Chastain), a portrait painter who travels from New York to Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull (Michael Greyeyes) in 1890.

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 on June 29, 2018, by A24. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 53% based on 36 reviews, and an average rating of 5.9/10. 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 Sitting Bull. The New York Times critic Jeannette Catsoulis called his performance “a miracle of intelligence and dignity”. RogerEbert.com contributor Susan Wloszczyna raved about his performance, calling it “the most subtle, soulful, and believable”. Los Angeles Times and Village Voice described his presence as captivating as “wry wit and quiet gravity” while the latter described his performance as “stirring”.