18/18
Army guard should have granted her admission
Plot
The story of American photographer Lee Miller, a model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. Based on “The Lives of Lee Miller,” the only authorized biography of Lee Miller’s life, written by her own son, Anthony Penrose, and published in 1985. Miller is denied entry to Hitler’s apartment because it is “for officers only.” War correspondents were given the rank of captain, so technically the U.S. Lee Miller: [Handing a knife to a girl she just saved from rape] Next time, cut her up.
Holy crap, that was DARK
The end credits feature some “what happened to” explanations and some of Lee’s original photos, usually alongside those recreated for the film. Featured in The 7PM Project: Episode dated October 21, 2024 (2024). I just got home from watching “LEE” at my local Picture House. Well, it’s not all bleak, but when you get to the last half hour… wow.
Let’s just say that “feel good” is not a term anyone is going to apply to this one
It’s not like I went in unprepared: I’d seen Kate Winslet doing the promotional chat show appearances, and as I’m already a big admirer of Lee Miller’s photojournalism, I knew the kind of subject matter we’d inevitably be exploring, but still… don’t say you weren’t warned. This film presents you with the hideous fact of Nazi genocide, as convincingly as the revelation it must have been at the time, without (thankfully) a hint of sentimentality. Winslet is magnificent in the title role – as are all the others, to be honest: there’s no shoddy acting to be found – and, speaking as a Rolleiflex TLR user, it’s clear she’s done her homework on how to handle that lovely machine convincingly. There were times when the picky photography pedant in me wondered whether some of the interior shots were being taken in such poor light that they were unlikely to leave any usable prints on the relatively slow film stock available in the 1940s, but let’s not argue!
My only real negative criticism has to do with a, frankly, bizarre bit of casting
It’s quite a long film, and the events are presented in a simple, linear fashion (via a series of chronological flashbacks) with a fairly even pace – personally, I would have preferred a bit more variation in the pacing; your tastes may differ. The role of Englishman Roland Penrose is given to Swedish star Alexander Skarsgård – whose valiant attempt at an English accent is… I think “variable” is the kindest word for it. It was hard to tell what part of England he was supposed to be from, or even what social class, and there were several moments when he didn’t sound English at all. I had to suspend my disbelief with a very strong elastic band every time he opened his mouth.