41/15
Lee Miller: [Hands a knife to a girl he has just saved from rape] Next time, cut it
The story of American photographer Lee Miller, a fashion model who becomes an award-winning war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. The production is given full access to Lee Miller’s archives, with the full cooperation and trust of Miller’s family… Miller was denied access to Hitler’s apartment, as it was "Officers Only" War correspondents were given the rank of captain, so, technically, the US Army guard had to accept it.. The closing credits have some "what happened to" explanations; and some of Lee’s original photographs, often along with those that were recreated for the film..
Featured in The 7PM Project: Episode dated October 21, 2024 (2024)
I just got home from seeing "LEE" at my local Picture House, it was DARK. Well, it’s not all dark, but by the time you get to the last half hour… oooooh. Let’s just say "feel good" is not a term anyone would ever apply to this.
don’t say you weren’t warned
It’s not like I went in unprepared: I had seen Kate Winslet appear on promotional chat shows, and since I’m already a big fan of Lee Miller’s photojournalism, I knew. the kind of subject we would inevitably explore, but still… This film presents you with the sickening fact of Nazi genocide, very convincingly as a revelation that must have been in the moment, without (thankfully) a drop of sentimentality, Winslet is magnificent in the lead role – as is everyone else honestly: there are no bad performances – and, speaking as a user of a Rolleiflex TLR, it was clear that she had done her homework, namely how to operate this wonderful machine convincingly. There were times when the picky photography pedant in me really wondered whether some of the interior shots were taken in such poor light that they were unlikely to have left any usable impression on the relatively slow film stock available in the 1940s, but it’s not a very long film and the events are presented in a simple, linear fashion (through a series of chronological flashbacks) at a fairly uniform pace throughout – personally I would have preferred a little more variation in pace; your taste may differ.
I think "fluctuating" is the kindest word for it
My only really negative criticism concerns one, frankly odd, bit of casting. The role of Englishman Roland Penrose is given to Swedish star Alexander Skarsgård – whose brave attempt at an English accent is … It was hard to tell which part of England he was supposed to be from or what social class, and there were a few moments where he didn’t sound English at all. I had to hang my disbelief on some pretty strong rubber band when he opened his mouth. Oh well… let’s judge!