I’m a fan of films or television shows that take place during WWII. There were so many stories about this great war that a lot of them didn’t get told. Well, the story of Elizabeth “Lee” Miller is one that is getting told in the latest feature film from Roadside Attractions. I love how so many different people were involved in this war. It’s hard to keep track of everyone who was involved in some capacity or another.

Elizabeth’s “Lee” Miller (Kate Winslet) is an American model and photographer. She likes to hang out with her friends in France when she’s not busy. Until the worst scenario imaginable happens, the Germans invade France. She decides that modeling during this time of struggle isn’t a good idea. She uses her skills as a journalist and photographer to get into the war as a war correspondent. She didn’t realize how dangerous and deadly this assignment could be. She ends up witnessing unmentionable atrocities in her travels across Europe. 

Kate Winslet had a great run of success in the early 2000s with six Academy Award nominations and one win for Best Actress in The Reader. She’s been toiling away lately doing streaming shows and hasn’t done a movie until now with her role in Lee as the title character. She’s one of those actresses that when I see her in something I am instantly interested. She has a great quality that I find fascinating. With Lee, she does a good job with what she is given, but overall the film didn’t do much for me. She has a few minutes to shine when she’s not showing her books, but it’s not enough to make me go wow. I hope she’ll get back to that great Kate of the early 2000s again. I miss her.

In Lee, there is a framing device and flashbacks. The story starts with an Interview that a man, Anthony (Josh O’Connor) is conducting with Lee. This was in 1977 at a farmhouse. When he is asking her questions, they are about her time as a war correspondent in WWII. She tells him all the details of her life, but she says she would only tell him if he shared with her about his life. The interview portion is a bit tumultuous; there is a tad bit of resentment coming from the young man and in a twist, this is revealed at the end of the film. No spoilers here.

Besides the two characters in the framing device, the film has a decent supporting cast opposite Winslet’s character. Andy Samberg plays Devid E Sherman, Davie for short. He is another war correspondent and a close friend of Winslet’s Character. Andrea Riseborough plays the editor of Vogue Magazine, Audrey Withers. The title character works for her and they have a good relationship, but times are hard for a magazine editor. Noemie Merlant plays Nusch Eluard, another model caught up in the hysteria of the war. This cast is pretty good despite the material not being up to par.

There is a romance within the context of this movie, but I just couldn’t buy Alexander Skarsgard and Winslet would be in a relationship together. It seemed a little far fetched to me. I’ve seen worse relationships in movies, but this one wasn’t one of the most believable that I’ve seen in recent years. I know that’s a harsh thing to say, but it’s how I feel about the pair in the film.

With any film set in the backdrop of war, the important thing is that the war scenes are done right. Even though this is a biopic it still needed to have realistic war sequences. I’m afraid they weren’t that good. That took me out of the movie a little bit. The scenes involving tragic situations were done well though. The director, Ellen Kuras, got the graphic nature and the cost of WWII. Some scenes were rough to look at, that’s for sure.

Lee is a biopic that is a little different than others. It has different elements that don’t all fit together to tell this woman’s story. It’s a bit of a mixed bag. Winslet and the rest of the cast are fine, not great, but not terrible either. The framing device and flashbacks helped the story progress, but the twist was a little too much to take. It was unexpected, to say the least. I’d say the script is probably the part of the movie that fails it most. Everybody did the best they could with what they were given. It’s not a film I’d say is a positive experience though.

2 stars

Dan Skip Allen