With a background that includes fiction pieces, documentaries, commercials, and music videos, cinematographer Ellen Kuras turns her experienced hand to directing with historical drama Lee, marking her feature debut. Based on the 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose, the plot follows American journalist Lee Miller (Kate Winslet) through various stages of her fascinating life, from her time as a Vogue fashion model to enlisting as a war correspondent during World War II. Through her marriage to British artist Roland (Alexander Skarsgård) and her working relationships with editor Audrey (Andrea Riseborough) and fellow photographer David Scherman (Andy Samberg), the film provides an insight to the woman behind the iconic images she took.
Borrowing the framing device from the star’s most famous work Titanic, an interview with the aged-up protagonist provides the portal into her own past. Early scenes expose a carefree community of creatives in France before Nazi occupation shifts the focus to her most well-renowned period. It’s as handsomely shot as you would expect from a director with Kuras’ skillset, though its Paweł Edelman behind the camera, best known for his work on Roman Polanski’s WWII tale The Pianist.
Miller and her legacy were deservedly heralded by the fictional war photographers in Alex Garland’s thriller Civil War earlier this year, but the battle sequences in which the photos are captured here lack the same threat and immediacy – this film favours a much safer, more traditional approach to storytelling. Whilst it feels less daring than the film’s material deserves, the familiarity of the style is enhanced, for better or worse, by Alexandre Desplat’s typically sweeping score.
Serving as a producer as well as the lead, Kate Winslet gives a dedicated performance that lends some authenticity to a production that often comes across as a slightly glossy ‘Hollywood plays dress-up’ version of events. With Skarsgård miscast, Marion Cotillard misused, and Josh O’Connor’s strange role entirely misjudged, it falls on comedian-turned-serious actor Andy Samberg to steal the show with a revelatory turn as Miller’s colleague. Putting himself in the line of fire physically and emotionally, his character is beautifully observed.
Like the striking photographs left behind by Miller in a way, Ellen Kuras’ picture feels somewhat like a relic of a bygone era. A paint-by-numbers biopic, Lee doesn’t blaze as many trails as its subject did in her efforts but it shines an important light on one of America’s great modern artists.
Cinema Perspective 