Kate Winslet’s new war film Lee has been slammed by critics, who have called the movie “a clumsy mishmash” and claim the actress is “wasted” in the film.
Lee is a biographical drama that tells the story of former American model Lee Miller, who took moving photographs of moments during World War II for Vogue magazine.
Starring Kate in the title role, it also features Josh O’Connor, Marion Cotillard, Andy Samberg and Alexander Skarsgard.
A year after the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, it is finally on its way to UK audiences, having opened in London’s Leicester Square on Tuesday.
Here, MailOnline rounds up what critics have said about it since its initial release on 9 September 2023.
Kate Winslet’s new war film Lee has been slammed by critics, who have called the movie “a clumsy mishmash” and claim the actress is “wasted” in the film.
Lee is a biographical drama that tells the story of former American model Lee Miller, who took moving photographs of moments during World War II for Vogue magazine.
The times Critic Kevin Maher brutally wrote that “Kate Winslet is wasted” in the film and that “even she can’t save” the biopic, awarding it just two stars.
He wrote: ‘It would be a great help, though, if there were well-developed supporting characters for Miller to interact with, grow with, develop with, confront and challenge. Instead, she’s simply surrounded by a plethora of mid-level co-stars who have almost nothing to do.
‘Perhaps sensing the limited nature of the narrative, the film’s three credited screenwriters have crafted a clumsy framing device that takes place in Sussex in 1977 and features Josh O’Connor as an incurious reporter who blandly interrogates the elderly Miller (Winslet in latex) between then and then.’
He added: ‘Winslet, in turn, is forced to pad the voiceover with unnecessary and trivial fillers like, ‘Months passed…’ and ‘We drove for miles.’
Pictured: Noémie Merlant, Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough, Kate Winslet and Andy Samberg at the UK premiere of Lee
Kate Winslet put on a glamorous display as she attended the London premiere of the new war film at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square.
Agreed with another two star review, The Guardian Critic Benjamin Lee wrote: “It’s been gratifying to see a star of her stature scale back and choose challenge over comfort, but Lee feels closer to the kind of film Winslet would have chosen at the height of her Oscar-bait era.”
The critic described the plot as: “Slowly moving from one Wikipedia paragraph to the next, with little interest in whether we enjoy or even pay attention to the lesson.”
However, he praises the actress for playing a “formidable Miller” and “lifting the film out of anonymity on her shoulders.”
BBC Culture Caryn James, meanwhile, praised the biopic and gave it four stars.
The critic wrote: ‘When she is credited as a journalist by the US military, the film really comes to live up to the importance of her work and gives us the measure of its emotional psychological cost.
‘The war scenes speak for themselves, without the need for any dramatic emphasis. Alexandre Desplat’s score matches that style, with a subtle and penetrating beauty. If Lee’s first half had been as dazzlingly effective as the second, it might have been a great film rather than a very good one.’
Although he criticized that it is “too conventional to measure up to the unconventional Miller, and the film only becomes truly remarkable when its heroine sets off to war.”
Kate Winslet’s new war film Lee has divided critics’ opinions, with some criticising the film as “a clumsy mishmash” and others praising it as “dazzlingly effective”.
Guardian critic Benjamin Lee wrote: “It’s been gratifying to see a star of her stature scale back and choose challenge over comfort, but Lee feels closer to the kind of film Winslet would have chosen at the height of her Oscar-bait era.”
From the stylist Shahed Ezaydi agreed with other critics that “Lee was clumsy in parts when it came to narrative and plot.”
But he argued that it is “the characters that really convey the remarkable emotion and power of this story.”
The critic was also impressed by Samberg and praised his performance as “the highlight of this film.”
She wrote: ‘We usually know him for comedy projects, like Brooklyn Nine Nine and SNL, but his portrayal of a photographer thrown into a world war and how it changes him as a man and a photographer is truly brilliant, a far cry from his usual funny tendencies.’
Discussing Winslet’s performance, Deadline Critic Damon Wise reasoned:For many, Lee will be seen as a vehicle for Winslet, and they will not be disappointed by her performance, which, without wishing to jinx the future of this multi-award-winning actress, will surely go down as one of her best.
He added: “However, they may have some problems with a film that fully reflects both the optimism of its protagonist and his many paradoxes.”
Meanwhile, Varieties Critic Carlos Aguilar says Winslet “deploys impressive range” and calls the film “respectable.”
Meanwhile, BBC Culture’s Caryn James highly praised the biopic, giving it four stars.
Stylist Shahed Ezaydi was impressed by Samberg and praised her performance as “the standout part of this film.”
He wrote: “Lee” lacks any formal drive that might mimic the fury lurking in its heroine’s eyes. What Winslet, also a producer, brings to the screen – a credibly complicated cocktail of defiance, fear and despair – seems too honest and emotionally raw for this mannered cinematic portrait of a singular life.
‘Still, it’s partly because of the conventionality of the project that her fantastic portrayal of a woman unconcerned with maintaining the status quo stands out so vividly.’
The Hollywood Reporter Critic Lovia Gyarkye was impressed with the war film, but said the structure, “while effective, seems incongruous with its subject matter.”
They wrote: ‘The actress injects award-winning cinematographer Ellen Kuras’s glossy, conventional biopic with an energy that brings an enigmatic figure to the fore…
Kuras’s film is competent, polished and award-worthy. And while all of that makes for an enjoyable viewing experience, the film also seems at odds with its protagonist: a restless woman whose passion and pain drove her to action.
Lee will hit UK cinema screens on 13 September 2024
