19/29
Miller is denied entry to Hitler’s apartment because it is “for officers only”
Tale
The story of American photographer Lee Miller, a model who became a renowned war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. The production was given full access to the Lee Miller Archives, with the full cooperation and trust of Miller’s family. War correspondents were given the rank of captain, so technically a US Army guard should have allowed him entry.
The credits are somewhat vague
Lee Miller: [Hands a knife to the girl he just saved from rape.] Next time, cut it. explanations of “whatever happened”; and some of Lee’s original photos, often alongside those recreated for the film. Featured in The 7PM Project episode: October 21, 2024 (2024).
His story is told in the privacy of his 1960s British home to a man we assume is simply a journalist
Kate Winslet gives a rather effective performance here as the titular photographer, who originally came to London to be with her husband Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård) and work for the powerful Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough) at Vogue magazine as a fashion photographer. With the Nazis seemingly unstoppable onslaught across continental Europe, Penrose finds herself spending more time in the war zone, which makes her increasingly determined to prove she is just as capable as her male colleagues. Needless to say, his involvement in war zones arouses considerable resistance, but through her own perseverance and an alliance with David Scherman (Andy Samberg), she soon becomes actively involved in war photography and ends up visiting some of the most dangerous locations ever built, terrifying buildings, and witnessing first-hand the truly horrific atrocities left behind by the defeated war machine that turned large-scale annihilation into an art form.
Some willingly, some less so, and some, well, didn’t live to tell the tale
In truth, her obvious nervousness and hostility toward him and his work suggest that she sees no value in his memoirs, but as the story of her life unfolds, we begin to sense that there is more to her and this young woman. A man (Josh O’Connor), which sheds a lot of perspective on the decisions made by a woman who likely put her career first. Through the characters of Solange (Marion Cotillard) and Nusch (Noémie Merlant), the film also attempts to provide a history of those who had to “work” with their new masters.
Images that still make your hair stand on end
The production and battle scenes are not particularly impressive, perhaps too cautious, the script a little dry and perhaps too much of it, but Winslet shows here that she has the ability to take on a role that could easily be filled with bravado, but instead brings a more measured charisma to her role as a woman whose ruthless courage created some of the most important images of World War II.
