Content Advisory: The Holocaust
The story of war photographer Lee Miller is told in Lee. In 1977 at the Farleys Farmhouse, an elderly Lee Miller (Kate Winslet) talks to her son Anthony Penrose (Josh O’Connor) about her career as a photographer in World War II. The story begins in 1938 France where former model Lee is vacationing with her friends Solange D’Ayen (Marion Cotillard) and Nusch Eluard (Noémie Merlant) and she ends up meeting her future husband Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård). As the Second World War begins breaking out, Lee gets a photographer job with British Vogue under editor Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough). Partnering with Life magazine photographer David E. Scherman (Andy Samberg), Lee is frustrated by the limitations given to female photographers. That doesn’t stop her from getting US War Accreditation to travel to the World War II frontlines.
Lee Synopsis
Lee is a biopic about World War II photographer Lee Miller and is the feature director debut from cinematographer Ellen Kuras, who previously worked with star Kate Winslet, as Director of Photography for 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The framing story of Lee stars Josh O’Connor (Challengers) as Lee’s son Anthony, who is questioning his mother about why she never shared about her time as a war photographer during World War II. While shooting the war, Lee Miller had to deal with sexism and censorship, resulting in many of her photos to remain unpublished for decades.
My Thoughts on Lee
The real Lee Miller is remembered as a pioneering war photographer, who earlier this year was namedropped in Alex Garland’s Civil War as the namesake for Kirsten Dunst‘s character. However, this biopic comes off as surface-level Oscar bait. While Kate Winslet does a satisfactory job as the titular character, Ellen Kuras shows her inexperience moving from cinematography and a handful of TV and documentary credits, including sharing an Oscar nomination for the 2008 documentary The Betrayal, to making her debut directing a narrative feature.
The framing scenes result in Lee coming off as quite episodic and the moments of Lee Miller capturing horrific moments in the war don’t come off as affecting or disturbing as they could have been. Lee also suffers from the distracting presence of Andy Samberg, making what I believe is his first dramatic role as Lee Miller’s colleague David E. Scherman. With Samberg best known for his comedic roles, it was very hard to view him in a serious light. The rest of Lee‘s supporting cast, including Alexander Skarsgård, Noémie Merlant (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Tár), and Marion Cotillard come off as extended cameos, particularly Cotillard, who only appears in a handful of scenes.
Ultimately Lee ends up being a quite disposable biopic. While Kate Winslet does a relatively solid job playing the influential war photographer, the execution of the plot does not do Lee Miller justice. The result is Oscar bait that will be forgotten soon after the credits role.