REVIEW: Woman Walks Ahead

Directed by Susanna White
2018 Western Biography
1 hour 41 mins
From A24

Starring
Jessica Chastain
Michael Greyeyes
Sam Rockwell
Chaske Spencer
Ciarán Hinds
Bill Camp
Rulan Tangen

I knew it was a western and a biography with the starring role going to a woman... well, saddle me up, I'm ready.  I read 10-12 review comments from the public and found them to go all the way from heavenly (I don't know what she was on) to worst piece of crap I've ever seen (patently ridiculous and the writer needs to get out to more movies).  If we could find a spot right in the center of all that, I'd be just fine.

A little light needs to shine on that western idea as well.  It is a western chiefly for the art house crowd and that means it's a little different, a little more restrained than most westerns.  It is high on chatter and low, real low, on action.  Men who like their cowboy movies with lots of bullets, killings and just slam bang action will give this a pretty negative review... be warned, boys.  Women who usually avoid westerns may find a lot more to like.

For those who want political correctness in the casting of minorities in minority roles, this film should please you.  From what I could tell all Native American roles were filled by Native Americans, including the male lead.  Furthermore, without exception, they're all the good guys. Let's cheer this.

The story opens in 1890 when Catherine Weldon (Chastain), a Brooklyn portrait artist and Indian rights advocate, heads out to Standing Rock in Dakota to meet the great Sioux chief, Sitting Bull (Greyeyes).  She's looking to paint his portrait.  As she puts brush to canvas we learn more about both of them, each of whom is kind but tentative.  Soon they learn to trust one another.  It was a part of the film I found most touching.

As that trust develops, Weldon learns that the local Indian agent, through government channels, is planning to take Sioux land away from them... again.  She becomes passionate about backing the small tribe in whatever ways she can... becoming Sitting Bull's mouthpiece and staunchest defender, listening to him, writing papers for him, offering to contact D.C. friends.  Her involvement angers the whites in the area and she is warned nicely by some and threateningly by others to hop a train back to Brooklyn.

The plot deepens some when the Indians take part in the Ghost Dance which involves dancing and chanting about an Indian resurrection and the return of the buffalo.  The Indian agent and his cohorts regard it all as treasonous behavior and stirring unrest.  Though Sitting Bull did not take part in the ritual, it is considered he is behind it all.  The whites were not about to allow Sitting Bull, the man in charge of wiping out George Custer and his entire 7th Cavalry, to have another chapter in the history books.

The truth of the actual events were given the standard Hollywood whitewashing.  Sitting Bull died when he was 59 and Greyeyes doesn't quite manage that look.  In real life the chief had a wife at the time of the story and she is not in the film nor is the young son that Weldon actually brought along.  The introduction of these characters might have added a little drama and some truth to the proceedings.  Additionally, in real life Weldon and Sitting Bull had a falling out before parting, another factor left out of the screenplay.  While I may not always be fully conscious of doing it, I expect I give one less star in my ratings of biographical work for all the fiction.

Chastain is perfectly fine in the role.  I could find no fault in her acting but I do not see the role or the film as becoming immortal in her canon of work.  I know she looks for strong woman roles and I can see why she was attracted to the project.

A graceful Michael Greyeyes

Greyeyes, a Cree Indian from Saskatchewan, is the best thing here.  There's a grace and majesty that he brings to the role of Sitting Bull.  I was drawn to his work and plan to be on the lookout for what's coming.  I was fascinated to read that along with his Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Kent University, he is also a director, former ballet dancer, a scholar and founding artistic director of Canada's Signal Theater.

Rockwell plays an army officer whose loyalties appear to be divided and has his own agenda (the army doesn't like that) and who brings both thoughtfulness and menace to the table.  If he's a little hard to pin down, no wonder they thought of last year's best supporting Oscar winner to play him.

I also particularly enjoyed Chaska Spencer as an Indian policeman who is Sitting Bull's nephew and a loyal friend to Weldon.

I have never heard of the director, Susanna White, nor have I seen her work but I thought she did a credible job in bringing the film together.  It is a project that needed a woman's sensibility.   

The New Mexico locations offer a natural beauty that created a sense of isolation and reflection so key to the story.

More than anything, for me it was a story of friendship and trust and I'm mighty partial to films offering that.


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