Lee (2023)
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12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
The story
In 1977, Lee Miller tells her life story to an interviewer, which is depicted through a series of flashbacks. In 1937, Miller is a former New York City fashion model and aspiring photographer living a bohemian lifestyle in France when she meets and falls in love with Roland Penrose. She moves to London and begins working for British Vogue during World War II, photographing the Blitz. Despite restrictions on women in combat zones, she is eventually assigned as a war correspondent in 1941. The narrative follows her journey as she documents the war, from the Normandy landings to the frontlines of Nazi Germany.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1977, Lee Miller tells her life story to an interviewer, depicted in flashbacks. In 1937, she is a model and photographer in France who falls in love with Roland Penrose. Moving to London, she works for British Vogue during WWII. In 1941, she becomes a war correspondent. She photographs the Battle of Saint-Malo, the first use of napalm, and the liberation of Paris. She travels to Nazi Germany with David Scherman, documenting atrocities at Buchenwald and Dachau. Before Germany's surrender, Scherman photographs her in Hitler's apartment. Back in Britain, she is angry that her photos of concentration camps were censored. She marries Penrose in 1947. The interviewer is revealed to be her son, Antony, who only recently learned of her experiences. It is revealed she is dead, and the interview was in his imagination. After her death, her archives were discovered and turned into the Lee Miller Archives.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 116
- Production countries
- United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ellen Kuras
- Writers
- Liz Hannah · screenplay; John Collee · screenplay; Marion Hume · screenplay; Lem Dobbs · story; Marion Hume · story; John Collee · story
- Cast and characters
- Kate Winslet · Lee Miller; Andy Samberg; Alexander Skarsgård · Roland Penrose; Marion Cotillard · Solange d'Ayen; Andrea Riseborough; Noémie Merlant; Josh O'Connor
- Genres
- biographical; war drama
- Themes
- war; memory; censorship
- Tone and mood
- dramatic; historical
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; war; historical
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose
- Reception
- Lee received generally positive reviews from critics and became Sky UK's highest-grossing original film.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 62 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Awards and nominations
- Best Actress · Golden Globe Awards · nomination; Best Actress · AACTA International Awards · nomination; Outstanding British Film · BAFTA · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film took eight years to make.; Kate Winslet paid the entire cast and crew's salaries for two weeks due to funding issues.; The scene of Miller in Hitler's bathtub was shot by photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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