- Kate Winslet, Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Samberg, Marion Cotillard
- September 13th 2024
- Ellen Kuras
Kate Winslet plays model-turned-war photographer Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller in this biographical drama.
Kate Winslet has spent years trying to make a biopic about photojournalist Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller and now all her hard work has paid off.
In the biographical drama, directed by Ellen Kuras, Winslet plays Miller, an American former model-turned-photographer living in London during the outbreak of World War II. She decides she must contribute to the effort in some way and goes to Europe with the U.S. Army to document the war for British Vogue.
During her time as the magazine’s war correspondent, Miller took photos of the liberation of Paris and the concentration camps. Witnessing some of these atrocities took a toll on her mental health and she resorted to pills and alcohol to numb her PTSD.
Lee is a relatively conventional wartime biopic. You know what you’re going to get and it doesn’t show much of what we haven’t seen before. Even still, the harrowing scenes in the extermination camps are hard to take and very moving.
The story still feels fresh because it’s told from the perspective of a female photojournalist, of which there were few at the time. Miller teamed up with Life magazine correspondent David Scherman (Andy Samberg) for most of her trips and she had to fight for the same access as him, simply because she was a woman.
The film’s biggest mistake is its narrative framing device. Instead of being set solely in the 1930s and 1940s, the film also jumps to 1977, when Miller appears to be giving an interview to a journalist played by Josh O’Connor. This feels unnecessary because it cuts away from the wartime action and doesn’t add very much.
However, the point of the 1977 timeline is revealed right at the end in a truly baffling way. Presumably, the ploy was intended to deliver an emotional gut punch but it simply doesn’t work. The film would have been better off without it, even if that meant losing O’Connor.
Winslet is incapable of a bad performance so it’s no surprise that she aces her portrayal of Miller. However, her co-star Samberg is the revelation. Best known for his comedies, Samberg casts that aside for a serious role and is really effective and moving. He should do more dramatic work.
Lee is a compelling wartime drama that shines a light on the bravery of Miller, who risked her life to document the reality of the war.
In cinemas from Friday 13th September.
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