Directed by Ellen Kuras | Written by Liz Hannah, Marion Hume, John Collee, and Lem Dobbs, based on the book by Antony Penrose | 116 min | ▲▲▲△△
A capsule review of this film ran on FITI during the coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival 2023
There’s an exceptional movie to be made about model turned photographer turned war correspondent Lee Miller. This one has moments that live up to that hope — it has a terrific performance in its centre, with Kate Winslet providing another of her unforgettable, damaged women — but it’s also at times a victim of its own biopic cliches.
It starts with the future photographer’s wild, free love years in the 1930s as an American model turned Euro socialite. Well, actually, it starts in the 1970s with her being interviewed about her younger life years later by Josh O’Connor while Winslet is stuck beneath unconvincing old-lady make-up. None of this works — we don’t need the framing device and we don’t spend enough times in the ’30s for us to care about the characters we meet there, including those played by serious talents Marion Cotillard and Noémie Merlant, who need more screen time to manifest.
Fortunately, Winslet continues to be a force of nature on screen, and she single handedly makes this picture a worthwhile watch. Her love interest is played by Alexander Skarsgaard as Roland Penrose, an upper crust Brit. He’s typically OK but struggles to convince with the accent. Jude Law was originally cast in the role, but it’s really a nothingburger part for either of them.
Things pick up in the second act when Lee goes to British Vogue to get work as a photographer. Andrea Riseborough shines as the editor, Audrey Withers, who eventually becomes’s Lee’s pal and helps get her images out into the world.
Miller finagles her way into France with the American forces, using her Rolleiflex camera to capture the Nazis retreat and surrender. She was one of the first war photographers to document the horrors that lay beyond the gates at Dachau. Along for the ride is Andy Samberg — who might be considered odd casting as Life photog David Scherman until you see a photo of Scherman, he’s the spitting image. The comedic actor in his first major dramatic role may be a little overwhelmed at the heavy lifting the film requires of him, though mostly he’s just fine reacting to Miller’s extroversion and hanging on while she pushes forward.
As the film manages some real emotion into the third act as Miller struggles to manage the visceral impact of what she’s witnessed, but then the script tries to clumsily connect the atrocities she observes with abuse she suffered as a child, a subtext that’s barely seeded — your eyes may roll.
All said, the picture works when Miller is hip deep in the horrors of war, and Winslet once again shows why she’s both a fantastic movie star and leading actor — her obvious passion for the material and the character carries the day.
