Last Updated on September 27, 2024 by
Lee is a 2023 War Epic Movie Directed by Ellen Kuras. The film stars Alexander Skarsgård, Kate Winslet, and Andy Samberg., with a runtime of 1h 51M, and was released on September 27, 2024.
“Lee” is a unique opportunity for Ellen Kuras, who is a world-known cinematographer, to become a director. Kuras is well known for her contribution to movies such as the one released in 2004 “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” which was highly appreciated by the majority of the viewers due to its outstanding directing. This time, however, instead of painting a fantastical and otherworldly narrative that would stupefy the audience, Kuras explores the terror of World War II. The film explores the story of Lee Miller, the photographer, who courageously headed to the warfare zone with a passion for her job. At the end of the war, she was traumatized by all those she had witnessed and wanted to let people know what life looked like.
It is not a comprehensive biographical film, but rather a story focused on one period or stage of the protagonist’s life, a significant period of Miller’s life, however. The movie is based on a book by Antony Penrose and the script was written by Liz Hannah, John Collee, and Marion Hume. Lee’ is not action-oriented, and the scale and intensity of battle scenes are not large, however, the film is based on the theme of post-war changes in Miller’s life and his artwork.
The Story of Lee Miller: Before the events of the movie, the character of Lee Miller, portrayed by Kate Winslet, was a former fashion model who lived in France in the late 1930s. She is shown as enjoying her youth, partying with friends, and finding herself in love with Roland (Alexander Skarsgard), while the world transforms around them. They saw Adolf Hitler come into power and start to expand in Europe, and when the Second World War started, Lee felt that urge to participate more than ever.
Lee did not wish to be a spectator of the war—she wanted to be a part of it and capture it by photograph. She can obtain a job at Vogue Magazine through its editor, Audrey, who provides her with an opportunity to utilize her talent to depict the world the horror of the war. On the way, he met his friend David, another photographer played by Andy Samberg, who documented the horrors that they witnessed as they followed the war front.
This is why as Lee continued to observe the progression of the war, her outlook shifted. The joyful, carefree life she lived before was no more; instead, she finally saw the realities of evil and pain in the world. This darkness brought her photography to a whole new level and she gained a completely new perspective on her work.
Flashbacks to the Past: The film is set in the year 1977, and it opens with Antony who is an aspiring journalist seeking information on Lee Miller. When asked about it at first, Lee responded negatively and refused to elaborate, but after some time, she shared the information. This is followed by the transition back to the pre-war years as the audience gets to see how her life in France was before joining friends she used to hang out with. Lee was influenced by artists and people who drew and lived a certain way, and she wanted to be a rather rude woman who had no respect for the rules. She was a model in the past, but for the past few years, she has been striving to become a professional photographer.
The film is rather effective in portraying Lee as a strong and determined woman, but she also has weak spots and love interests, such as Roland, a fragile painter who brings out her sensitive side.
Their relationship becomes a key part of the movie, as it shows Lee letting her guard down in a time of uncertainty.
Facing the Horrors of War: With the war becoming intense, Lee manages to get her position as the editor of Vogue; however, discrimination against women was so rampant during that time. A lot of people did not regard women as worthy competitors for a job, let alone a place in a war zone. However, Lee was looking forward to the war that she felt would give her the best chance to serve and help. By 1944, she had grown close to a man named David who, as it was revealed, had been in love with her. This though creates some emotional tension or conflict within the story because while David is looking out for Lee’s welfare, she seems to have no feelings for him.
As they move deeper into war-ravaged France, Lee gets to experience the ruthlessness and hatred at work on women, especially in ways she had never hoped to. The encounters gave her more ability as a journalist and she was a valuable tool in Vogue’s attempts to cover the war.
The movie gradually becomes more and more darkened as Lee knows about the existence of the Nazi concentration camps which were meant for the evident crimes against humanity. It becomes a more torturous path for her as she gets closer to these unpleasant truths of life.
The Emotional Toll: War experience reduces Lee to a mere emotional wreck as she covers the war. She observes all sorts of vice including violence, deaths, and the lowest of human beings. Over time, her photographs depict the real situation on the ground as she records acts of inhumanity that are happening. However, the main focus of the story is shifted to how the war changes her as a woman and an artist throughout the film.
At the end of the war, Lee has some psychological damage and is frustrated with her attempts at preserving her artistic control and handling the trauma she has endured. Kate Winslet is very effective in portraying the emotional strengths and frailties of the character Lee. How Lee was obsessed with documenting the war and how this determination tormented her for the rest of her life is also described by her.
Instead, “Lee” is not just the story of one woman’s life during World War II, but a history of the entire war. It also discusses women’s situations and trials during those times and how abuse and trauma affect a person’s imaginative and affective being. Of course, at times the film may appear a little shaky or incohesive but it provides an inspiring theme of courage, the burden of being a witness to other people’s suffering, and the desire to tell the truth despite the pain.
Lee Parents Guide Age Rating
Lee is rated R by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for disturbing images, language and nudity.
Violence & Gore: It is set in the time of World War II and features numerous violent and gory scenes referring to the war. However, despite not being filled with action-packed war scenes, the movie depicts the scenes of bombings, death, and devastation. The audience could come across soldiers who have been wounded, those who are killed in the line of duty, and possibly other victims who may be in rather unpleasant conditions. In this way, the film shows the liberation of Nazi death camps through the eyes of Lee Miller, thus illustrating all the vice of the Holocaust. They are skinny bodies, dead bodies, and the place where survivors had to stay. This can be very unsettling and uncomfortable to watch, let alone for young audiences. The movie talks about the social injustice especially to women during the war through scenes that depict rape and sexual assault. Despite these being somewhat stylized and in most cases not very detailed, they give an illusion of the suffering and injustices that women went through during the war, which may be distasteful or even traumatic to most. When Lee is photographing the war, she is horrified by what she comes across and the movie goes through the process of her psychological and emotional collapse. There are rather vivid scenes where she is depicted as a psychologically disturbed woman overwhelmed by the number of deaths she has witnessed which might be disturbing.
Sexual Content: There may be cases of child nudity during some scenes due to the background that Lee has in modeling and her love life. The depiction of nudity is probably more aesthetic, although it can still be potentially disruptive and, therefore, questionable for youth audiences. There are off-screen scenes about sexual intercourse between Lee and her lover Roland. Although much of the acting does not involve particular sexual scenes, there may perhaps be kissing scenes, some level of undressing, and some intercourse scenes. Both these scenes show the romantic and sexual interest in the main character, Lee, but they are not central to the movie’s theme. The movie also presents Lee as a woman who is sexually liberated.
Language: Thus, due to the movie’s rating, one might expect to hear many instances of coarse language, specifically, obscene language (for example, f***, s***, d***), and other forms of slander. Characters can scream, swear, be afraid, be frustrated in moments of action or war scenes, and have feelings of rage, hatred, etc. Because of the historical context of the film, there are moments when characters are portraying Nazi soldiers and may utter racial slurs, hatred towards the Jewish community and other minorities. This can help to enhance the ‘darkness’ of some sequences, for instance, where tangible horror and horror motifs are predominant.
Substance Use: The film takes place partly in the 1930s and 1940s, and there may be instances where characters are seen consuming alcohol in a social or as a means of handling stress, perhaps at parties or other less light-hearted moments. Tobacco consumption, particularly cigarette smoking was a popular habit during the time the movie was set hence the characters, including the actress OU LI, could be seen smoking in various scenes in the movie. There is no glamorization of smoking and it is depicted in a very normal way, typical for the era depicted in the film. There might not be many scenes of drug use in the film, however, there are scenes where characters are shown as consuming substances to cope with trauma and pressure from war. Some instances of the portrayal of drinking might be binge drinking since characters attempt to relieve stress and pressure.
Summary of Suitability: Based on its intensely war-like imagery, emotionally charged themes, and subject matter, ‘Lee ‘ is best viewed by audiences that fall under the ‘Adults Only’ category that is, audiences that are, 17-years-old and above.
