Popular reviews

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  Review by davidehrlich ★★ 2

  Is a film still considered a “white savior” story if its white protagonist never actually saves anything? In the case of Susanna White’s “Woman Walks Ahead,” it’s certainly not for lack of trying. A listless but lustrously shot biopic about the 19th century New York widow who traveled to North Dakota, painted the Sioux chief Sitting Bull, and then served as an advocate for his tribe as they fought the United States government’s attempts to expropriate their land, the movie almost credits Caroline Weldon as being solely responsible for the Native American resistance to the Dawes Act. Moreover, it also forgives her role in the massacre that followed. On their own, those issues are more frustrating than fatal. As a self-contained story, however, the film suffers enormously from its slippery grasp of history, all of its narrative thrust slipping through the cracks between fact and fiction.

  READ THE FULL REVIEW ON INDIEWIRE

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  Review by Libby Caldwell ★★★ 5

  Films Watched in 2020 - Film 209
  A24 Ranked

  Not too engaging, feels exactly like The Nightingale and both are slightly problematic in the white saviour/likening the issues of a white woman to the issues of natives whose own land has been taken over element, at least in my opinion.

  Overall it’s predictable and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve forgotten it all by tomorrow.

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  Review by Allison M. 🌱 ★★★

  “Go away. I'm writing to my congressman.”

  The film was set in a time where women and Native Americans were devalued. It was a slow burn, but eventually got pretty good toward the end. I'm not sure about Jessica Chastain's accent, but the performance ended up being pretty powerful.

  Vegan alerts:
  -Discussions about buckskins and moccasins made of "soft" buckskin
  -A discussion about using buffalo's brains to soften the hide
  -Buffalo bones on the hillside
  -Riding horses

  Note: there is also violence shown toward humans as well (people roughed up and also shot).

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  Review by megan ★★½

  i fell asleep

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  Review by ˗ˏˋ Liam ˊˎ˗ ★★★

  really don't know how to feel about this one.... it's really well shot and i was engaged the whole time but the ending feels so underdeveloped?? the more i read about the real history behind the film the more i feel like it just wasn't handled very well in the end, which is a shame because i do think there's a fair bit to admire here. i am glad this film brought these events and the admirable catherine weldon to my attention but i just wish it was handled better and told more from the perspective of the lakota people as it ultimately feels like it is their story to tell.

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  Review by ScreeningNotes ★★ 2

  "The only battle I've fought has been insignificance."

  Caroline Weldon, a wealthy widowed portrait artist, sees some paintings of Native Americans and is inspired to ask Sitting Bull if she can paint him. Meanwhile, the growing United States conspires to steal yet more land from the aboriginal people living on it, and Ms. Weldon quickly becomes entangled in these struggles against the imperialist American government. So yeah, it's one of those movies. The struggle of a non-racist ally in a racist land.

  For whatever it's worth, it does a good job presenting the struggles of the Native American people, whose welfare is controlled by white folks who would rather they didn't exist, alongside the struggles of those few brave enough…

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  Review by trey 🍂 ★★★

  It loses steam in the middle, but you can bet that this history pic is anything but boring. Jessica Chastain and Michael Greyeyes do well together as Caroline Weldon and Sitting Bull, and their chemistry together is impeccable. The camerawork is absolutely gorgeous, and the last 15 minutes hit you really hard.

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  Review by DreamScape40 ★★★½

  Having no idea about the film or it's story I just saw it had Jessica Chastain and wanted to watch it.

  Based on a true story.
  Story was good and sad.

  🎨

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  Review by ty ★★★

  The movie is so beautiful just like Jess 💕

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  Review by dionizia ★★★★★

  If you left this movie without feeling the impact of this story, that tells me you entered the theater with a mind to hate it regardless. I genuinely urge you all to follow (on twitter) Michael Greyeyes, the native actor who plays Sitting Bull, and read the discussions he has been having regarding this movie. It’s of course important to be critical and I’m sure not everything in this is historically accurate and we can have that conversation but I really hope the public goes out to see this movie and support the many native actors in it. Michael Greyeyes’ performance deserves an oscar and this film deserves to be SEEN. I feel extremely fortunate to end my tribeca film festival week with this movie.

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  Review by bella ★★★½ 2

  TIFF premiere #4

  Well, the fact of the matter is that I saw this a few days ago and couldn't figure out how to respond to it. As an avid Jessica Chastain stan (and after meeting her for the umpteenth time last weekend), it's difficult to give any of her films less than rave reviews. For this film in particular, I didn't expect much, and I think that helped the case a lot.

  Susanna White, don't get me wrong, is a skillful, lovely filmmaker. She has a knack for sweeping visuals and capitalizing on the beauty of her subjects (whether it be landscape or actor). While capturing the marvelling beauty that Dakota has to offer, she doesn't allow it to…

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  Review by claira curtis ★½

  Me, 5 minutes in, realizing that this was going to be a rough watch: 😔
  Me, 10 minutes in when Sam Rockwell came on screen: 😯🥰
  Me, sticking through the entire runtime because Michael Greyeyes gives an incredibly exceptional performance and is truthfully the only worthwhile part of the entire film: 🙂 

  A24 has tricked me into watching yet another movie of the western variety in my quest to watch all of its filmography. I ask as I have previously, why does A24 distribute so many Westerns?