Lee (15)
Directed Ellen Kuras
 

NINE years in the making, this biopic tells the extraordinary story of surrealist muse and former model turned war correspondent and photojournalist Lee Miller, whose work resulted in some of the 20th century’s most indelible images of war. 

Produced by and starring Kate Winslet as the trailblazing American Miller, it recounts how in 1944 she broke the rules by reporting from the front line in France for British Vogue even though women were banned from even attending military press briefings let alone seeing combat. 

Told entirely from a female point of view, the film concentrates on a pivotal 10 years of her life where it places you alongside Miller in the thick of the action. 

In a raw and warts-and-all powerhouse performance, Winslet brings this remarkable woman to life showing her resilience, tenacity and fortitude cutting through the red tape and getting the job done. Also, her profound empathy for women and the voiceless victims of war. 

A chain smoker and heavy drinker, Miller was happy in her own middle-aged skin. She famously once said: “I’d rather take a photograph than be one.”

This directorial debut feature from award-winning cinematographer Ellen Kuras is a slick and stylish drama, exquisitely shot and starring an impressive supporting cast which includes Marion Cotillard and Andrea Riseborough as Miller’s Vogue boss.

However it isn’t greatly served by the contrived plot device used to try and make it more intriguing and interesting. Frankly Miller’s rich and colourful story is enough. 

The film starts in 1977 with an elderly Miller giving an interview at her East Sussex home in which she recounts how she met her husband Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgard) and her time as a war correspondent teaming up with Life magazine photojournalist David E Sherman (Andy Samberg). It ends on an unnecessary twist. 

It recreates some of her most iconic images in which she chronicled Nazi atrocities as well as the moment she took a bath in Adolf Hitler’s bathtub at his private Munich flat which he abandoned before fleeing to the bunker. 

While this may be a run-of-the-mill biopic in structure, Winslet’s portrayal is anything but and she does justice to the pioneering Lee Miller, honouring her work and her incredible legacy. 

In cinemas September 13.