Lee ★★★

Released: 13^th September 2024

Director: Ellen Kuras

Starring: Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård, Andrea Riseborough, Marion Cotillard, Noémie Merlant, Josh O’Connor

Lee Miller is one of the most celebrated war photographers of the 20^th Century, best known for her work during the Second World War, helping provide some of the first photographic evidence of the Holocaust and Concentration Camps. Her story is now brought to the big screen by Ellen Kuras, marking her feature-length directorial debut. Kuras is a renowned cinematographer having shot the iconic Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, already working with some well-known names. Kate Winslet brings Lee Miller to life in a film depicting her life on the cusp of the war and her determination to play her part, whilst also recounting how her experiences shaped her life after the war.

Kate Winslet is on terrific form as ever displaying Lee’s grit and desire to be heard in a male dominated world, as she forges her own path. Much of the stellar supporting cast is relegated to the periphery, with the likes of Andrea Riseborough, Josh O’Connor and Marion Cotilard limited to small, undeveloped roles. In a rare dramatic role for Andy Samberg, he emerges as one of the standout supporting parts. Showing his range as Davey Scherman, a fellow war correspondent for Life Magazine and confidant for Lee. This is a world away from his work in SNL, Brooklyn 99 or Hot Rod.

The overt focus on the last year or two of the war does sidestep a lot of Lee’s contribution and initial involvement with Vogue. It would perhaps also have been intriguing to follow her career post-war, although we do get glimpses at the end of her life in the late 70s and how her son Antony uncovered her work. While the war sequences are thrilling and there is a strong sense of emotion at its core, Lee does feel like a missed opportunity to be more thorough in its examination of the attitudes of the time and how Lee’s work impacted society, feeling a tad too superficial to become truly great, in spite of moments that do hit home.

Kate Winslet and Andy Samberg certainly make Lee watchable and Ellen Kuras shows great promise as a director. Outside of the leads however, it is a tad by the numbers and doesn’t prove as impactful as it might have been. Yet it will remind us of Lee Miller’s contributions and again shows why Kate Winslet is so revered.