Lee Miller: [Handing a knife to the girl she just saved from rape] Cut it next time
Synopsis
The story of American photographer Lee Miller, a fashion model who became a renowned war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. The production was given full access to Lee Miller’s archive, with the full cooperation and trust of Miller’s family. .. Miller is denied entry to Hitler’s apartment because it is "officers only" War correspondents were given the rank of captain, so technically the US Army guard should have let him in.
Featured on The 7PM Project: Episode 21 October 2024 (2024)
The closing credits feature some "what happened to" explanations; and some of Lee’s original photos, often along with those that were recreated for the film. It is a partial biography of photojournalist Lee Miller (Kate Winslet), set in 1977 with flashbacks from 1938 to 1945. The film’s story is structured as an interview with Miller by a young man (Josh O’Connor) in 1977. The flashbacks to Miller’s life begin in 1938 and continue thereafter.
Her friends include Jean (Patrick Millais) and Solange d’Ayen
Miller is a former American model who takes up photography as an art form and hangs out with an artistic crowd in France, where she has lived for a time. She meets Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård), a Quaker artist and poet in Britain. He is also part of her artistic community, and they begin a relationship. Miller moves to London, where she gets a job at British Vogue, edited by Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough).
We learn more about her motivations towards the end of the film
After the outbreak of World War II, Miller finds her way to the front lines as a war photojournalist for Vogue. "Lee" depicts some of her dramatic experiences, resulting in unforgettable photographs of battles, the capture of Berlin, and the death camps, often alongside Life magazine photographer David Sherman (Andy Samberg). Miller’s personality throughout is difficult to navigate and sometimes impulsive, as she copes with her chain smoking and drinking. "Lee" is too one-dimensional, although Kate Winslet’s strong performance portrays a complex and troubled personality.
There are too many characters with shallow development, leaving Winslet alone
The lack of context also makes it worse, as her past is unclear (she was married to an unnamed man throughout the war) and we learn nothing about her life after the war (she married Roland). So “Lee’s” limitations stem from how multiple screenwriters adapted the 1985 biography.
