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Lee
Stars: Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough, Josh O'Connor, Marion Cotillard, James Murray, Noemie Merlant, Samuel Barnett
Director: Ellen Kuras
The story of American-born wartime photo-journalist Lee Miller (Winslet) gets sluggish treatment in this grim biopic which opens with a dying Lee being interviewed by a young journalist (O'Connor).
A former model and abstract artist and currently all-round playgirl, Lee's hedonistic existence is highlighted by her casually unwrapping her breasts at an alfresco picnic in late 1930s' South of France with friends whose lives, like hers, are to be irrevocably changed by the imminent advent of World War II.
Beginning an affair with English artist Roland Penrose, she moves in with him when they return to London, where a now 33-year-old Lee, cashing in on her previous work as a photographer, scrounges a job at Vogue magazine, where she befriends the spinsterish editor Audrey (nice performance by Riseborough).
Although she continues to work there after the premises are bombed, she becomes restless watching Roland and other friends go off to war. 'I felt useless,' she explains, using her American nationality to enable her to travel to France as a war correspondent.
The film tends to wander from event to event without looking too far beneath the surface - until Lee comes face to face with the full horrors of war. Her subsequent photo collection proves too gruesome for Vogue to publish, though American publishers prove less squeamish...
Winslet does sterling work and her American accent is mainly on the money, although she does once shout 'arsehole' instead of 'asshole' (she gets it right second time around). Skarsgard is a bit wet as her (second) husband and life partner (to the disappointment of Davey (Samberg), a fellow photo-journalist who follows her into the war zone), and an argument between Lee and Roland towards the end seems artificially contrived. The reconstruction of wartorn territory, though, is impressive.
The 'trick' ending doesn't quite work, leaving us feeling slightly cheated.
David Quinlan
USA/Hungary 2023. UK Distributor: Sky Original. Colour by Company 3.
117 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.
Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 1, Swearing 2.
Review date: 10 Sep 2024