At the twilight of her life, a war photographer recounts her memories to a young journalist.
Lee Miller (1907-1977) had such an extraordinary life that it would take more than one film or miniseries to cover it. Model, muse of Man Ray, member of the Surrealists, friend of Éluard, Picasso and Cocteau, the American, armed with her Rolleiflex, was one of the rare female photographers to immortalize the horrors of the Second World War by becoming a correspondent for the British edition of the magazine Vogue.
It is on this last aspect of Lee Miller’s life that the focus is Leefirst fiction feature film by Ellen Kuras, notably known for having signed the photo ofEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mindby Michel Gondry, andA Little Chaosby Alan Rickman, two films starring the exceptional Kate Winslet. Having fought tooth and nail for nine years for her project to come to life, going so far as to pay out of her own pocket two weeks’ salary to the team in the middle of pre-production, the British actress shines brightly in the role of this photographer who used his creativity, his impetuosity and his sensitivity to reveal the truth to the whole world.
Based on the book by Anthony Penrose The Many Lives of Lives of Lee Millerpublished in 1985, Lee offers a story wisely constructed in flashback during which the heroine, unattractive, alcoholic and addicted to amphetamines, recounts her exploits to a somewhat clumsy young journalist (Josh O’Connor). Appears in the wake of beings who have marked her existence, such as her friend Solange D’Ayen from Vogue French (Marion Cotillard), the surrealist artist Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård), the editor-in-chief of Vogue British Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough) and the magazine photographer life David E. Scherman (Andy Samberg, astonishing in a dramatic register).
Despite a modest budget, Lee benefits from a credible period reconstruction. With an admirable economy of means and a sobriety well suited to the subject, Ellen Kuras brings to life the darkest pages of history, particularly highlighting the fate reserved for women. Assisted by cinematographer Pawel Edelman (The Pianistby Roman Polanski), whose work on light suggests the patina of time, the filmmaker also meticulously recreates Lee Miller’s most famous photos.
Moving away from hagiographic portraits, Lee paints the portrait of an imperfect woman who fully accepts her faults and tries to tame her own demons. Lulled by the delicate score of Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Waterby Guillermo Del Toro), the whole thing certainly seems too smooth and conventional for the nature of the central character. However, at the very end, the screenwriters have two major surprises in store for the viewer, which make you want to be more interested in this woman of light who has been relegated to the shadows for too long.
Biographical drama
Lee
Ellen Kuras
Kate Winslet, Josh O’Connell, Andy Samberg
1:56 a.m.