Movie Review: Lee

By John Corrado

The movie Lee is a biopic of photojournalist Elizabeth “Lee” Miller (played by Kate Winslet), who worked as a photographer for Vogue magazine during World War II.

The film serves as the feature directorial debut of cinematographer Ellen Kuras (who first worked with Winslet on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and it’s been a passion project for her and the lead actress, who has been trying to bring Lee’s story to the screen for years.

And Winslet brings a tenacity to the role, if the movie itself is a pretty conventional biopic. The screenplay – credited to Liz Hannah, John Collee and Marion Hume, having gone through several rewrites – offers a somewhat clichéd framing device; we meet Miller looking back on her life in 1977, as she is “interviewed” by a man (Josh O’Connor) asking questions about her work.

This allows Winslet’s Miller to recount how she got her start as a former American model and artist living in France in the late-1930s, after flitting about from place to place. In her circle of artist friends, they all enjoy drinking and having sex, seemingly oblivious to the oncoming threat of Nazism spreading across Europe (as many otherwise progressive socialites presumably were at the time).

It’s here that Lee meets and falls for Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård). She moves with him to London, and begins photographing the effects of the war at home. But she is determined to go to the frontline. This leads to the more interesting part of the film, as she goes into combat zones to document the war, teaming up with Life magazine photographer David E. Scherman (Andy Samberg). The two eventually start to discover and photograph the concentration camps, capturing vital photographic evidence of the horrors of the Holocaust itself.

Kuras stages some decent scenes, including more harrowing moments in the second half, as Miller and Scherman try to capture evidence of what is happening inside the death camps. Winslet delivers some gripping moments, bringing a tenacity and steely resolve to her portrayal of Miller, but also flashes of vulnerability as she realizes the reality of what she is capturing. Samberg is also a noteworthy standout here, delivering a textured performance that feels practically unrecognizable to everything else he has done.

The story can feel trapped in a typical biopic structure, and Miller is also a much more complex figure than the film’s overly conventional approach sometimes allows, which can make the characterization feel a bit uneven at times. But the strong performances, and the naturally compelling elements of Miller’s life story, keep Lee not only watchable but at times engaging across two hours.

Film Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)