Kate Winslet continues to serve us the most incredible characters. She wowed us with TV series The Regime as an autocrat, and now she's returning to our screens in a very important biopic.
Lee follows the story of an important figure in WW2 history, and most importantly from a female perspective. It is also directed by Ellen Kuras, who was a cinematographer on Winslet's earlier film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
And now, the trailer for Lee has dropped, and we couldn't be more excited for this movie.
Here's everything we know so far, including its amazing supporting cast and what Kate has said to say about making it.
Lee trailer
The official trailer is here, and it's certainly an emotional, thrilling and sexy one. Kate has done it again! Watch below:
What is the plot of Lee?
According to the film's official plot synopsis, Lee follows "the story of photographer Elizabeth 'Lee' Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II."
It looks like it will take a deep dive into the people Lee meets on her travels, the impact of war on them and her own psyche, zoning in on her own personal trauma. Lee will take us through her career from around 1938 as her career shifts from modelling to war photography. Miller brought an important female perspective to war reporting at the time, and witnessed the Nazi concentration camps of Buchenwald and Dachau, as well as the liberation of Paris and was even photographed in Hitler's bath tub. Quite an icon.
Director Ellen Kuras spoke to Vanity Fair about how she was drawn to Miller's journey from being in front of the camera, to behind it in a war zone.
“For someone who was objectified, to take the step around to the other side of the camera, I was really intrigued by: What is she seeing, what is she looking at, what is her point of view?” she said. “It was with that same kind of approach that I took to this film.”
Who is in the cast of Lee?
While this is undoubtedly Kate Winslet's big role, the supporting cast is pretty incredible.
She'll be joined by Marion Cotillard, Andrea Riseborough, Challengers star Josh O'Connor (who plays a young journalist interviewing an older Lee Miller), Andy Samberg and Alexander Skarsgård. Roland Penrose, Miller’s husband, will also appear in the film. Confusingly, but also amazingly, Jude Law will play Roland's character.
Winslet has also opened up about why she wanted to tell this particular story. "Lee was a woman who lived her life on her terms and she paid a horrific emotional price for all of it,” she said in an interview with Vogue. “I wanted to tell the story of a flawed middle-aged woman who went to war and documented it.”
In an interview on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, she spoke about the importance of telling Lee's story outside of the male gaze.
“She was a big believer in not withholding the truth from people. She was a truth seeker. She believed in justice. She was a very, very powerful, formidable life force. And her story has never been told in this way. She has always been seen through the male gaze, and this was something else for us. And I'm very proud of the film.”
The actor has been working on bringing Lee to life for 10 years, and has been open about the struggle of finding finance for the film – even covering two weeks of wages herself at one point.
Lee release date
Lee will hit UK cinemas on 13 September 2024.
