Muse, model and war photographer, Lee Miller’s professional life inspired Kate Winslet’s latest film …
WHAT Kate Winslet’s new film, Lee, is described as a biographical drama (not a biopic) directed by Ellen Kuras. Kuras previously worked with Winslet on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, for which she served as cinematographer. The screenplay for the film was adapted from the 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose (who is Lee Miller’s son). The cast also includes Marion Cotillard, Andrea Riseborough, Josh O’Connor and Alexander Skarsgård in supporting roles. Winslet not only stars in the titular role but she also produced the movie.
From Lee Miller: Photographs by Antony Penrose, Thames & Hudson.
WHO Winslet told Vogue: “Lee was a woman who lived her life on her terms and paid a horrific emotional price for it all. I wanted to tell the story of a flawed middle-aged woman who went to war and documented it.”
Elizabeth “Lee” Miller was an American photographer and photojournalist. She worked with American photojournalist David E Scherman and took many of the most famous images of World War II. She was also a model, who famously graced the cover of Vogue in an Art Deco-style illustration by George Lepape.
She posed for Man Ray and became a Surrealist muse, having moved to Paris in 1929. Indeed she was instrumental in inventing Man Ray’s “solarisation” photographic technique though which black and white hues are reversed, creating a halo-like effect. Miller’s circle of friends included Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali. Picasso painted her portrait with her head bright yellow to illustrate the vibrancy of her personality.
Picasso and Lee Miller in his studio, Liberation of Paris, Rue des Grands Augustins, Paris, France 1944 by Lee Miller (NC0002-1). © Lee Miller Archives, England 2021. All rights reserved. www.leemiller.co.uk.
Her private life was as interesting as her professional career. Her first husband was Egyptian businessman Aziz Eloui Bey and with him, she moved to Cairo. However by 1939, she had met Surrealist author and artist Roland Penrose and moved with him to London. In the UK she met Vogue editor Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough) and through their connection, Miller began to publish photo essays (using her Rolleiflex camera) which transformed the luxury-oriented title to an outlet for serious news.
Miller’s work included images of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, an all-female artillery unit. Following this, she became an established war photographer and was present at the battle of St Malo (when napalm bombs were first used) at the D-Day landings, the liberation of Paris, the Battle of Alsace and the US army’s entry to Nazi concentration camps, Buchenwald and Dachau. Her photographs of the latter acted as cold, hard evidence to disbelieving American and British audiences. The American edition of Vogue, June 1945 printed Miller’s photos of emaciated corpses with the message: “Believe It”. (These scenes have been recreated in the film version).
Auxiliary Territorial Service Searchlight Operators, South Mimms, North London, England 1943 by Lee Miller (4930-66). © Lee Miller Archives, England 2021. All rights reserved. www.leemiller.co.uk.
Winslet is expertly cast as the indefatigable Miller in the face of these atrocities; the film spans the wartime era between 1938-1948. Winslet was adamant that the narrative would focus on Miller’s work rather than her lovers and celebrity friends.
After the war, Miller moved to East Sussex and had her first child, Roland Penrose, who endorsed this gritty portrayal of his mother. (His parents’ home is now a museum to their Surrealist life and art). No doubt Miller would also approve of this version of her biography. Famously, she once remarked about her modelling career: “I’d rather take a picture than be in one.”
Kate Winslet as Lee Miller in Lee. Photograph by Kimberley French Copyright © Sky UK Ltd.
The film took eight years to make and was not without production dramas. Due to precarious funding, at one point Winslet paid the cast and crew’s salaries for two weeks. Winslet was also hospitalised after falling on set in Croatia (in September 2022). This was on the first day of filming when she was rehearsing a scene. She hurt her back but carried on with filming regardless. Hungary was another location for the film, which wrapped in 2023.
Fall of the Citadel, Aerial bombardment, St Malo, France 1944 by Lee Miller (5918-55R6). © Lee Miller Archives, England 2021. All rights reserved. www.leemiller.co.uk.
WHEN Lee debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9 and will be released by Sky Cinema on September 13.
Need to Know: Do read Lee Miller: Photographs by Antony Penrose, Thames & Hudson, €42, available at Photo Museum Ireland; www.photomuseumireland.ie.
