Kate Winslet went all in for her portrayal of war correspondent and photographer Lee Miller.
As the lead star and producer of the eponymous biopic “Lee,” Winslet dedicated herself to embodying Miller’s tenacity both onscreen and off. Oscar winner Winslet personally paid the crew’s salaries for two weeks during the indie film shoot, with the feature being helmed by former collaborator and famed cinematographer Ellen Kuras.
“Lee” charts a pivotal decade in the life of American war correspondent and photographer Lee Miller (Kate Winslet) including her work during WWII. The film shows how Miller lived her life at full-throttle in pursuit of truth, for which she paid a huge personal price, forcing her to confront a traumatic and deeply buried secret from her childhood.
Kuras directs from a script by Liz Hannah, Marion Hume, and John Collee. Winslet produces alongside Kate Solomon, Troy Lum, Andrew Mason, Marie Savare, and Lauren Hantz.
The cast is rounded out by Josh O’Connor, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård, Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough, and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard.
“Lee” premiered at TIFF 2023, where director Kuras told IndieWire’s Anne Thompson that Winslet’s research was key to the historical story. “She was very involved in the film from A to Z. From all the research to us having extensive conversations about who we wanted to cast, talking about who could be in different roles,” Kuras said. “She researches and knows all of her lines and everybody else’s lines. She’s so well-prepared and thinks about every single part of the detail so she embodies and loves the character.”
Kuras drew a comparison between Winslet and the real-life Lee, saying, “What we found fascinating, and Kate really wanted to show too, is her drive to seek the truth and to bear witness to what happened to all of these people. Lee Miller was very much somebody who looked at the invisible; her camera was deliberately pointed on the people who didn’t necessarily have a voice, who weren’t seen.”
The film is distributed by Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions.
“Lee” premieres September 17 in theaters. Check out the teaser below.
