Lee Review – Emotional, Biopic of WWII Photog Haunts

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Category: Film

Published on Thursday, 09 November 2023 15:47

Written by Janet Walker

Lee, from Brouhaha Entertainment, Juggle Films, and Hantz Motion Pictures, presents a resonating biopic of former Vogue model and wartime photojournalist Lee Miller who defied societies boundaries and with a determined grit became known for her iconic WWII images.

We learn early Lee, played by Kate Winslet, is pugnacious. Ahead of her time, she had more than the style she was famous for, she had tenacity. It was 1937, right before the beginning of World War II, and she is transitioning to Europe to work as a British photojournalist.

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When the war broke out, she enlists her old friend from Life Magazine David E. Scherman, played by Andy Samberg, who helps her get past the Brit's strict opposition to women on the front lines.

First on the scene after the liberation of the Buchenwald and Dachau, the Nazi concentration camps Miller and Scherman were determined to capture the unfathomable atrocities perpetrated by Hitler. After the day of opening train cars filled with dead and decaying bodies, entering what we understand could be the infamous gas chamber showers and photographing the mounds of emaciated dead.

Through these poignant scenes we travel with her, with her no holds barred, strong willed determination, will not take no for an answer, she interacts with the battle scared able to interpret the unspoken language necessary to understand those muted from the horrors of wartime abuse and violence. Without imposing she manages to capture the moment, a child physically alive, silenced, and yet is one of the lucky ones.

The horrors of the day weigh on both Miller and Schamberg as they are the first journalists to document the liberation they follow the troops and find Hitler's headquarters, as Scherman is unable to get past the guard, Miller, a heavy smoker, offers the solider a cigarette, explains who she is, and again her ability to read and speak the necessary language gains her entry into the lair of the snake.

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We see the shock of two different worlds, outside a land, continent destroyed and aching for the dead, and here inside the headquarters, a brightness filled with possessions stolen, and pristine bathroom with hot water. Miller grabs a picture of Hitler and has Scherman photographs her, this image became an iconic image of the war.

She submits a pictorial of resonating images capturing some of the most iconic war images, before the world, for the good of the people as it is best to move on, cover the whole horrible thing up and never speak on it again, was able to hide the truth.

British Vogue editor Audrey Withers, played by Andrea Riseborough, explains the realism of war had an audience, it just wasn't in Europe and sent the pictures to the United States. Lee saw this as a betrayal, and finally we understand her strong reaction and fortitude as she exposes the truths of her own past.

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Throughout we see Antony Penrose, played by Josh O'Conner, as Miller's son whose appearance bears such a strong resemblance to Scherman, one is left wondering. As an aged Miller, Antony, who had little knowledge of his mother's wartime achievements, as he looks at the haunting images of days long past, is pictured quizzing her on her devotion to him.

Lee is a surprisingly good film. Kate Winslet's physical transformation into Lee Miller is astonishing. As the horrors of World War II have been documented, using the original photos to create the moments when the images were captured produces authenticity. The scenes are very affecting.

Lee recently had its U.S. premiere screening to a packed house at AFI FEST 2023 and will be released December 6, 2023. See it.

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Country: UK, U.S.

Language: English.

Runtime: 116 minutes.

Director: Ellen Kuras.

Producer: Finola Dwyer, Lauren Hantz, Troy Lum, Marie Savare, Kate Solomon, Kate Winslet, Erika Milutin.

Screenplay/Story: Liz Hannah, Marion Hume, John Collee, Lem Dobbs, based on the biography by Antony Penrose.

Cast: Kate Winslet, Alexander Skarsgard, Andy Samberg, Andrea Riseborough, Marion Cotillard, Josh O'Conner, Noemie Merlant, James Murray, Samuel Barnett, Enrique Arce, Zita Arce, Arinze Kene, Ian Dunnett Jr, Anita Major, Toni Gojanovic, Adam Boncz, Patrick Mille, Sean Duggan, Vincent Colombe.