They get a bad rap, but biopics have long offered filmmakers the opportunity to shine a spotlight on remarkable women with stories that have either been hidden, misrepresented, or egregiously overlooked by history.  From Erin Brockovich to The Queen to Harriet to Florence Foster Jenkins, these films draw back the curtain on extraordinary women who shaped the world through their actions.  I confess that I knew nothing about war photographer and correspondent Lee Miller before sitting down for Lee, the feature debut from award-winning cinematographer turned first-time director Ellen Kuras, at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.  Perhaps that’s a good thing because it allowed me to approach the film and Kate Winslet’s leading performance without any expectations.

Let me dial that back a bit.  I should say that, as with any role she takes on, I know that Winslet (Blackbird) will be giving it 150% percent, so the odds are high I’ll walk away satisfied with what she’s bringing, but I wasn’t expecting to be moved quite so much by Lee.  It’s easy to see why Kuras sought to bring this story to the screen because Miller’s life is nothing short of grandly cinematic to begin with and the film captures her resilience with both sublime beauty and realistic grit.  Of course, Winslet’s fiercely determined performance is a highlight, but you’ll be surprised at how good (and starry!) the rest of Kuras’ assembled cast is.

Set during World War II, Lee adopts a somewhat standard framing device: the look back.  An older Miller is being interviewed by a journalist (Josh O’Connor, Challengers) about her career.  Beginning as a fashion model before transforming into a fearless war journalist, we trace her path from pre-war Paris to the front lines of battle.  Along the way, Miller’s photographs, some of the most significant images of the 20th century, serve as both a canvas and a mirror for the film. From her haunting self-portrait in Hitler’s bathtub recreated somberly onscreen to her unflinching documentation of war’s horrors conveyed with gut-punching realism by Winslet and co-star Andy Samberg (Palm Springs), Miller’s work is woven into the film’s emotive fabric, exploring how her pursuit of truth often came at a heavy personal cost.

Winslet has made a career of tackling multi-layered women who hold their cards close to their chests, and Miller may be one of the most closely guarded characters to date.  Rarely showing true vulnerability, she was unwaveringly courageous in seeing great beauty and life’s brutality in equal measure.  Naturally, she fully inhabits the role, portraying Miller as more than a heroine/artist but as a flawed, complex human being.  You feel the weight of the trauma she witnesses as much as you are moved by the strength that propelled her forward to the next frame.

In supporting roles, Samberg stretches the furthest from his comedy roots as David Scherman, Miller’s friend and fellow photographer who was by her side for many of her most famous tours.  Oscar-nominee Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie) adds another notch to her belt of portraying seemingly brittle women with a strong backbone, as Audrey Withers, editor of British Vogue, who gave Miller exposure in the magazine, which helped her photographs reach the world.  Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) has a small but critical role as Miller’s husband, while Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard’s (The Dark Knight Rises) too-short scenes as Solange d’Ayen remind us that even brief roles can leave a lasting impact.

It should be no surprise that with Kuras’ background in cinematography Lee would be quite stunning visually.  The muted color palette used by cinematographer Pawel Edelman for the war-torn scenes in France and Germany stand in stark contrast to the earlier sequences of frivolity where Miller and her guests party topless in the sun-kissed gardens of France.  Moving naturally into the director’s chair, Kuras applies a subtle touch, allowing her visuals to tell the story as much as the script from Liz Hannah does.  Each frame feels well composed and thought out, advancing the narrative without adding fluff that distracts from completing Miller’s story.

You could knock off a few points for the schmaltzy way the film is wrapped up in convenient bookends and several inserted scenes with O’Connor grilling Winslet in rubbery old-age make-up.  However, I felt it achieved the desired payoff it was going for, even long after you understood what it was signifying.  The film’s themes of holding fast to the courage to capture the truth and having the resilience to bear witness to history have an emotional charge that I think will resonate with many audiences looking for a different kind of WWII drama.  Focusing on more intimate and human moments, aided by Winslet’s outstanding work, makes Lee a stirring tribute to a woman whose work reshaped our visual understanding of war.