Jessica Chastain goes west to paint famed warrior Sitting Bull, and fight for Native American rights, in the first trailer for Woman Walks Ahead. In 1887, portrait painter and Native American rights activist Caroline Weldon took the money she inherited upon the death of her mother and headed west to find Sitting Bull, the famous Lakota warrior who defeated Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Weldon would ultimately remain with Sitting Bull as his secretary and translator, while the Lakota continued their fight with the United States government over their lands in Dakota territory.
The new movie Woman Walks Ahead, from director Susanna White (Bleak House) and writer Steven Knight (Eastern Promises), tells the story of Caroline Weldon and her time with Sitting Bull. Chastain plays Weldon, a fiercely independent woman embarking on a dangerous journey, who comes to side with the Lakota in their struggle to retain their ancestral lands. Michael Greyeyes plays Sitting Bull, the proud warrior whose vision foretold his people’s victory at The Battle of Little Bighorn - and who is doomed to meet his own terrible fate. The movie co-stars Sam Rockwell (who recently also signed on for Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit), Ciaran Hinds (memorable as Captain John Franklin in AMC’s Arctic survival/horror series The Terror), and Michael Nouri.
A24 has now released a trailer for Woman Walks Ahead, which looks like a western with echoes of Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves. Watch the trailer above.
Woman Walks Ahead begins with the classic set up of a white person leaving behind their comfortable existence in the “civilized” East and heading west in search of adventure, or meaning, or maybe just peace. The new trailer sets up the movie’s feminist slant right away as Chastain’s character meets with male animosity both subtle and direct. But of course, our heroine won’t bend to a little intimidation. When she finally meets Sitting Bull (played by an actor who looks decidedly younger than Sitting Bull looks in the actual portraits by Caroline Weldon), there is initial awkwardness due to the cultural divide between them. But as we see, Sitting Bull soon takes the woman into his confidence, even taking his shirt off to show her his bullet wounds.
If there’s any sexual tension between Chastain’s character and Sitting Bull, the trailer only barely hints at it. The clip is much more direct in dealing with the tension between Sitting Bull’s people and the white authorities who want them out. In reality, The Battle of Little Bighorn and the death of Custer made it inevitable that a decisive conflict would happen between the U.S. and the native tribes. The trailer shows both sides preparing for that final battle, with Chastain’s character insisting she’s “only there to paint a painting.” But of course we don’t believe that’s all she cares about.
More: Jessica Chastain Officially In Talks For IT Sequel
Woman Walks Ahead hits theaters on June 29th, 2018. Jessica Chastain is also set to star in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, as well as the video game movie The Division co-starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The actress will also reportedly star in the upcoming adaptation of the comic book Painkiller Jane.
You can watch Woman Walks Ahead exclusively on DIRECTV CINEMA May 31 and in theaters on June 29, 2018.
Source: A24
