Jessica Chastain Is Accused of Being a Spy in First 'Woman Walks Ahead' Clip (Exclusive)

"Forgive me, ma'am, but very few unaccompanied ladies travel beyond Omaha."

In Woman Walks Ahead, the period drama from director Susanna White that is available now on DIRECTV and opens in theaters on June 29, Jessica Chastain plays 19th century painter Catherine Weldon, who travels to North Dakota to paint a portrait of Chief Sitting Bull. But this exclusive clip shows not everyone is willing to believe her story, as Catherine turns heads upon entering the train's dining cart and catches the eye of a US Army officer.

"The only stop left is Standing Rock reservation," Colonel Silas Groves (Sam Rockwell) questions her. "If you're not a soldier's wife and you're not a missionary, what other business could you possibly have?"

"I'm a painter," Catherine beams. "Yes, a full-time painter."

"I guess you came out here from New York City," Groves counters. "New York is the headquarters of the National Indian Defense Organization. From time to time, they send their political agitators out West to start things up on the reservation. I guess that's closer to the truth?"

"So now I'm a spy?" Catherine says, and when Groves suggests she intends to promote opposition to a treaty, she exclaims, "I met you two minutes ago and already you've accused me of being a spy and a liar."

Watch the trailer for Woman Walks Ahead:

Here is the movie's official synopsis:

"Based on true events, WOMAN WALKS AHEAD tells the story of Catherine Weldon (Chastain), a widowed artist from New York who, in the 1880s, traveled alone to North Dakota to paint a portrait of Chief Sitting Bull (Michael Greyeyes). Her arrival at Standing Rock is welcomed with open hostility by a US Army officer (Rockwell), who has stationed troops around the Lakota reservation to undermine Native American claims to the land. As Catherine and Sitting Bull grow closer, and as their friendship -- and his life -- are threatened by imperious government forces, Catherine must contend with the violence that underlies her position."

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