Lee – Movie Review – A Haunting Journey Across World War 2 Through the Female Lens
Lee is the harrowing true story of a forgotten photographer whose life’s mission is a quest to defy conventions of common day comforts and share true insights through the lens of her camera. This journey takes her from England to war-torn France at the height of WW2, straight to the remains of the darkest parts of the Reich.
Lee Miller Is Gone, But Her Impact Will Never Be Forgotten
Told as a conversation between an aged Miller in the 1970s and a prospective journalist student, Miller, played by the devastatingly impactive Kate Winslet, recants her early life as a photographic journalist. This begins with her summer abroad in France and her first meeting with her future husband and later father of her child, Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgard – The Northman, True Blood).
From here, her journey takes her to London, where she joins Vouge as their breakout female photographer, seeking to go where the patriarchy won’t let her, to the very heart of The Third Reich and even Hitler’s very own bathtub, Lee is the story of a woman not trying to make a name for herself but to capture the horrors of war and the monstrosity capable by humans led by bigotry.
At all points in this film, he never quite feels Lee’s journey has ended – at every turning point and every victory, Lee seems to be facing another challenge. Whether this is the traditional British Military forbidding her from going across the channel or her partner’s desperate pleas for her to return when she does, Lee faces several obstacle courses and overcomes each one in time.
There is not a single moment that is wasted on screen. Every scene depicts the truth about warfare, womanhood, and suffering. There is a connecting thread of shared experiences, especially amongst her sex, as Lee becomes the voice of the voiceless, capturing in still images what others won’t see or cannot see either for the limited perspective of voluntary blindness.
Accompanying Winslet’s character is her co-star, Andy Sandberg, playing fellow American journalist David Sherman, who is Miller’s faithful companion throughout her journey through the liberated streets of Paris to the worn down and defeated homes of the Reich leadership in Germany.
Sandberg, known for his work in comedy (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Palm Springs, Hotel Transylvania), gives a rare performance in a more serious role, and whilst some may worry that the star of the vulgar and verifiably goofy band The Lonely Island might exist to provide comic relief Sanderg’s sullenness seems to be an intentional inclusion to demonstrate that there is no room for humor or comedic relief or even relief in this tale.
The Further Miller Goes, the More Harrowing It Gets
The horrors of war might seem familiar to a generation that has grown up on the internet. However, no matter how many clips we watch and how horrifying they might be, there is still a distance that exists between us as the viewer and them as the victims.
Director Ellen Kuras unveils the truth to us, and like a bride facing a beastly groom, it is near impossible to do without your disgust. Kuras’ measure of approaching her victims of war in a manner that does little to impair the dignity of the actors and actresses who play their parts is professionally done and refreshingly produced.
A rape victim doesn’t have to be naked on screen to demonstrate the vile brutality she has undergone. A collaborator doesn’t have to be beaten and dragged through the street, only have her hair removed in front of a jeering crowd to show she was no less a victim of the occupation, only hers had been the victim of a lie in bed.
The ambiance of war is evident, perhaps that is because Kuras’ directorial directives do not insist upon themselves. Horror is horror simply because the information has been conveyed through the actors, through the story, and our understanding of history.
We do not need to be pandered to with sad music or dialogue exposition to understand the horrors of war. Kuras does as the real Miller did, she frames it and makes a single frame speak volumes of words. Sometimes, less is more – in this case, less is almost excessive.
An Honest Accounting
Many stories have forayed into the last great war of our time. So many of them are stories about soldiers going to fight the Germans or the Japanese. So many are stories about brave Americans standing up for the supposedly morally pure forces of The West.
Lee is not that story. It’s a war story, though more so on the victims of war. Whilst soldiers are sure to carry their fair share of wounds, Lee shows the victims of every single war – the women and the children.
Take out World War 2, and the horrors of what occurred could be almost applied to any conflict. This is the unseen side of war that so many politicians do not want us to understand. If there is a single person who reads this who thinks war is good, I encourage you to watch this film and tell me, honestly, that is what you still believe.
Lee is one of the best biopics of the last few years and the best war film I’ve seen in my lifetime, though with the state of the world, I’m sure there will be another just like it soon enough.
10 out of 10.
