Lee - Film Review

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Directed by Ellen Kuras and produced by Kate Winslet and Kate Solomon, Lee stars Kate Winslet (Lee Miller), Andy Samberg (David E Scherman), Alexander Skarsgård (Roland Penrose), Marion Cotillard (Solange D'Ayen), Josh O'Connor (young journalist), Andrea Riseborough (Audrey Withers), and Noémie Merlant (Nusch Eluard). Rated 'M' it's 117 mins long. It's 1938, in the South of France, and former model Lee Miller is on vacation with her closest artistic friends. Those were the hedonistic summers when these artists and friends would come together, prepare meals, eat, be outrageous, and discuss/debate ideas with each other. Lee is no longer modelling and now operates behind the lens, focused on her own work as a photographer. It's here that she meets Roland Penrose, an art dealer. Instantly enamoured with each other, she's persuaded to go to London with him.


While looking for a job as a photographer at British Vogue, Lee finds a like-minded collaborator in her female boss Audrey Withers. Try as they might, Lee cannot get to the frontline - where she wants to be, to report on the outbreak of WWII, up close and personal. She is turned down time and again as unlike the men, there are restrictions placed on female photographers who are expected to do their duty at home. Having exhausted the British system, as an American, Lee heads to the US War Accreditation and is finally granted permission to go to the front. Leaving Roland, she goes to Europe on her own to photograph and report on the war for the female readers of British Vogue. It's during this time that Lee meets fellow photographer David E Scherman from Life Magazine. Instead of being competitors, they become lifelong friends.


This is a story of one feisty, determined middle-aged woman in a man's world. She overcame enormous obstacles before eventually travelling to the frontline, and once there, created extraordinary WWII images that gave her a rightful place in history as one of the most significant photographers of the 20th Century. It came at a huge emotional and personal cost, as one cannot help but be changed, being up close to the atrocities of war. Lee's story in part is told through interview sessions; when a young writer delves into her life wanting to understand and learn about the woman he didn't realise, played an important role in reporting from the frontline. The story goes back and forth between the past and the interview, and it allows the audience to discover the tenacity and determination of this truth-seeker who held the mirror up to the faces of evil, to report back to her readers.


It is no surprise with Kate Winslet in the starring role, that her performance is going to be nothing less than powerful and visceral; her resolve is as fierce and committed as the character she plays. The story focuses on just a portion of Lee Miller's life. She was a victim of her time in many ways; for a female photographer who wanted to go to the frontlines in a male-dominated world; a victim of restrictions and laws written by men; and a victim of her youth when she had no power to fight back. Her images from the battlefield were largely censored or went unpublished. Perhaps this is what made her a survivor and imbued her with great empathy for her subjects. The details mattered to her, and as the sole female photographer on the frontlines on the battlefield, she had a different approach and would often notice things that went unnoticed by some of her male counterparts. She captured photos showcasing different aspects of the war, including women contributing to the war effort, France after liberation, and the concentration camps of Buchenwald and Dachau.


Kate Winslet is more than up to the task of portraying all facets of a complicated strong woman. There are emotional moments where Kate excels and will bring you to tears, especially during a revelation which I'll not spoil for you. The experience and response might be different for you, but for me, it broke my heart. Largely known as a comedian, Samberg really stepped up in a dramatic role and stood his steed next to Winslet. In small roles, Skarsgård and other big names like Marion Cotillard were a little wasted, and only seemed to exist to bolster some of the story, and were shiny add-ons for Lee to express some parts of her personal life in frivolity and sadness. There was just too much of Lee Miller's life that a 2 hour film could not contain, and as such, all that remains in the memory is her approach to all that happened to her and perhaps that would have been more than enough. This movie barely scratches the surface or does full justice to the enormous audacity of her life. Still, it's not a bad movie at all and definitely worth seeing. It has brought forward the life of Lee Miller to our focus, and it's definitely worth googling to learn about this remarkable woman.



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