Image Source: Wikipedia, Britannica

In the mood to witness some girl power? Stay seated to find about the latest work of Kate Winslet, where she portrays Lee; a model turned WWII photographer.

Kate Winslet is soon to be joined by a fabulous star-studded array of actors and actresses to join her on the sets of LEE. Alongside the Titanic actress, there will star Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Andrea Riseborough, and Josh O'Connor. The film is going to be a directive of Ellen Kuras and follows a glamorous model from the times of World War II. 

The star-studded Cast of LEE; Credits: MCUTimes

Lee Miller, a glamorous model who graced the covers of Vogue, took a fascination to the dangerous task of becoming a war photographer when WWII was raging at its peak. The model who had worked directly under astonishing artists like Man Ray went on to the front lines of the allied forces and brought back the horrifying events of Hitler's concentration camps etched onto her camera reels. 

Winslet and Kuras, the cinematographer who was nominated for an Oscar for The Betrayal, will together helm the reigns of the new movie and set start to a tale of feminism back in the day. The model not only went to bring the harsh cruelties of the German forces into firelight but also exposed the terrible death and destruction wrecked by wars on all fronts, whether allied or not. 

Talking about the new film, Kate Winslet explained, "This is absolutely not a biopic. To make a story about Lee's whole life, that's a series worth for HBO. What we wanted to do was find the most interesting decade in her life, the one that defined who she was and what she became because of what she went through."

Telling how the courageous lady went on to pursue a dangerous career not may have the stomach for, Winslet also said,  "It was the period from 1938-1948 that took her right through the war and her most defining time. That is the story we want people to know about Lee more than the many other parts of her life."

Lee Miller and Roland Penrose; Credits: National Portrait Gallery

Winslet herself is a great actress with an impressive collection of Emmy awards and Oscar nominations to prove her worth for the role. She recently won her second Emmy for Mare of Easttown and will now star in the movie that will be featuring many more Oscar nominees along with her. The film's composer will be Alexandre Desplat, the costume designer is Michael O'Connor, Cinematographer will be Pavel Edelman, and the hair and makeup design head will be Icana Primorac: all Oscar winners or nominees. 

Expanding more on the life of the legendary Lee Miller, Winslet said,  "She has been misunderstood and so often viewed through the lens of a man, through a male gaze, because she started her life as a model and was very beautiful. When you mention Lee Miller, you might first hear Man Ray. The part of Lee, the middle-aged woman, who threw herself at life, living it at full throttle because she knew it would hurt, but she did it anyway, in search of the truth, that is a woman to admire." She also added, "I'm surprised that a film has never been made about this incredible woman."

Relating herself to Lee, the Mare of Easttown actress said, "She had a powerful streak of injustice in her, which I also carry myself. She's a woman who needs to be explored, celebrated, revered. There's so much to her."

The artist and photographer, Man Ray, who had discovered Lee and set her on the path of becoming a high fashion model, wasn't of the view to let Lee go and let her find out her own thing. He protested her decision to become a photographer along with then British Vogue editor Audrey Withers, who refused to publish Lee's work in the magazine.

Another acquaintance and a good friend of Lee Miller back in her fashion days was Solange D'Ayen, the fashion director of French Vogue, who was captured by the German forces and the Nazis had her sent to prison in 1942. When Miller had finally discovered her after the war, the lady was but a shell of her previous self. 

Lee's love interest in the story will be portrayed by Law. His character is going to be Roland Penrose, the artist, and poet who caught Lee's eye as they fell in love. The couple's son Anthony Penrose is to be played by O'Connor, an Emmy winner from the series The Crown for his portrayal of Prince Charles. It was Anthony Penrose who discovered his mother's hidden photographs from WWII that exposed the horrible truth of the war, fueling the question of why the pictures weren't made public. 

Kuras explains the dynamics of the life of the influential photographer then says, "When you look back on WWII and how people envisioned it, the war photographers often would focus on the men in combat. One thing that distinguished Lee from so many other photographers is, she looked at the people behind the scenes. She looked at women in the war effort who played a significant role in the war." 

Retelling the events following Miller’s revelations of WWII, Winslet told, “She put it in a box in the attic and didn’t want to revisit it. The betrayal of not having those photographs from Dachau printed and shown to the world was the ultimate betrayal between her and her editor, Audrey Withers, with whom she had such a deep, honest and trustful relationship. Those women had created a dialogue that allowed women to understand what was going on with the war.”

The women of the time were not very well versed with reading media, and such photographs could have broken the glass ceiling. Winslet continued, “Women at that time didn’t read the papers like they do now. It was a very different world. Though Vogue, this fashion magazine that women read, they were able to bring news of the war and show what was happening, from a woman’s perspective. Through Lee’s eyes, we’re able to see the war in a way we haven’t been able to before. And through what she does when she goes into Hitler’s apartment –[she photographed herself taking a bath in his tub as he was hiding in his suicide bunker] — we really come to understand how important, in present-day, this film can be to people. It will remind us where we are now, through what happened back then. The treachery of a madman like Hitler, playing out his deeds, and his manipulations, through this story we can understand what is happening today.”

Lee taking bath in Hitler's Tub; Credits: BBC

It is going to be an exciting ride to witness the brave, courageous, and genius photographer Lee as she uncovers the truths of the war, one photograph at a time.