Lee Review
This snapshot of Lee Miller’s life is curiously unaffecting at times, but certainly has elements to keep you interested.
US photographer Lee Miller (Kate Winslet) is stuck in the UK as World War II breaks out. As her British husband Roland (Alexander Skarsgard) works on camouflage patterns for the military, she gets a gig taking photos for Vogue magazine. When she gets the chance to travel to mainland France with LIFE magazine photographer Davy Scherman (Andy Samberg), she jumps at it; but the horrors she’ll witness over there will change her forever.
Lee is certainly an interesting exploration of its real life subject, but it is one that works best when it is tackling the most horrific parts of her World War II experiences. Winslet does a fine job with the character, bringing real pathos to some of the more emotional moments, but the film too often gets in its own way - leaving a curiously disjointed and disaffecting experience that never really delivers on the promise.
There’s a consistent feeling of falsehood in the film throughout from the start. It begins right from a rather gratuitous garden party scene, and from then on the film feels a little performative. The lack of authenticity is like a small thorn in the side throughout, and it never really goes away until Lee and Davy reach deep behind enemy lines in Hitler’s apartment, and when they reach the concentration camps. Once these elements hit, the movie hits another level, but until then everything feels a little disinterested.
Kate Winslet is great in the lead role, although the consistent sense of inauthenticity does also permeate a handful of her more emotional moments as well. Samberg, potentially a left-field choice for the role given his comedic history, does an admirable job with the more emotional parts of the character. Skarsgard is probably the most believable, even in his small role.
The final consideration are the visuals, which from the cinematography and lighting, to the CGI, to the props and set design, frequently feel oddly cheap.
Ultimately, the saving grace for Lee is the real life story the film is based on. There is something inherently interesting in this lead character, and inherently shocking about the conclusion, that no matter the flaws in this movie, it remains worth the watch.
