Aaron's Thoughts
In a world of reboots, sequels, and sterile biopics, it is always refreshing to come across a film that has actual passion & heart behind it. Not just a greedy studio trying to pat down an IP for some extra change.
The heart behind “Lee” is none other than star and producer, Kate Winslet.
It was eight years ago that Kate Winslet first came across the name Lee Miller. That chance encounter sent her on a remarkable journey to get a movie about the icon made.
I have no choice but to applaud not only the effort that Winslet made to get this story told, but her intentionality (along with the crew) in telling it.
Anyone who regularly reads this site knows that there may be nothing I hate more than a cradle to grave biopic. Thus, I love that “Lee” has no interest in being one.
There is no visualization of the inevitable early moment in Lee’s life where she takes her first photograph or a her modeling days or her childhood trauma. Instead, it makes the wise choice of opting for a small set of moments and events that defined who she really was.
The problem though is that as these moments start to play out, we never get a chance to actually dive deep into her mind or her inner thoughts in any way. Sure, the tropes of most biopics are avoided, but that blank space isn’t filled out with anything that makes us understand Lee Miller better. If anything, it just makes us painfully aware how uneven the dialogue is & how clunky the story structure/script is.
We see lots of powerful Wikipedia page esque moments throughout the 2 hour runtime and even get some recreations of her renowned photos, but it all just leaves us with a caricature of Lee Miller & nothing of substance.
The whole point of not doing a cradle to grave biopic is so that you can spend some real time in those few moments to explore the interiority of the subject.
Despite this major flaw, Winslet gives a remarkable performance alongside the standout of the film, Andy Samberg. I would have never imagined that Samberg had such a nuanced performance in him, so it is great to see him show the world his versatility.
There are a lot of reasons to say that “Lee” doesn’t work as a piece of filmmaking, but does it work as a vessel to tell her story is an entirely different question. After all, I had never heard of Lee Miller two days ago & now I can’t believe a movie had never been made about her prior to this.
So in some regards, that alone is a success. And reason to seek this out.
