40/23

Miller is denied entry to Hitler’s apartment because it is “For Officers Only”

Chronology

The story of American photographer Lee Miller, a model who became a renowned war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. The production was granted full access to Lee Miller’s archives with the full cooperation and trust of Miller’s family. .. War correspondents were given the rank of captain, so technically she should be allowed in by the US Army Guard. Lee Miller: [Hands a knife to the girl she has just saved from rape] Next time, cut it short.

Blimey, it was DARK

The credits have some “what happened” explanations; and some of Lee’s original photographs, often along with those recreated for the film.. Featured on The 7PM Project: Episode dated October 21, 2024 (2024). Just got home from seeing "LEE" at my local Picture House. Well, it’s not completely dark, but by the time you get to the last half hour… oooft.

don’t say you weren’t warned

Let’s just say “feel good” is not a term anyone would ever use for the term. It’s not like I went in unprepared: I had seen Kate Winslet perform on a promotional chat show, and as a big admirer of Lee Miller’s photojournalism, I knew the kind of themes we were inevitably going to explore, but still… This film presents the heinous fact of Nazi genocide to you, very convincingly as a revelation it had to be in the moment, without (thankfully) a hint of sentimentality. Winslet is brilliant in the lead role – as is everyone else. Honestly: there are no lousy performances to be found – and as a user of a Rolleiflex TLR, it was clear she had done her homework – on how to operate this beautiful machine convincingly.

My only really negative criticism concerns one, frankly, bizarre casting

There were moments when the nitpicky photography pedant in me wondered whether some of the interior shots were shot in such poor lighting that they were unlikely to leave any usable impression on the relatively slow film available in the 1940s, but that’s not arguing! It’s a fairly long film, and events are presented in a simple, linear fashion (via a series of chronological flashbacks) at a fairly uniform pace – personally, I would have preferred a bit more variation in pace; your tastes may differ. The role of Englishman Roland Penrose is given to Swedish star Alexander Skarsgård – whose daring attempt at an English accent is…I think “variable” is the kindest word for it. It was hard to tell what part of England he was supposed to be from, or indeed what social class, and there were several moments when he didn’t sound English at all. Every time he opened his mouth, I had to suspend my disbelief on some pretty strong rubber.

go for it!

Oh well…