In the 'Lee' Trailer Kate Winslet Takes on the Photogenic Photojournalist

Kate Winslet's biopic on model-turned-photojournalist Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lee, was first released in 2023 at the Toronto Film Festival, which is usually the first place films start their runs for awards season. However, SkyFilms and StudioCanal did not immediately land international distribution, nor were the reviews that rave at the time. Add in other films overshadowing Winslet's biographical performance meant to wow Academy voters, and everything was paused while the producers worked out distribution deals to make a big splash the next year when the film offerings would be much thinner on the ground due to the ongoing strike.

Fast-forward nearly a year, and the plan seems to be working pretty well. In February 2024, Roadside Attractions picked up the movie for distribution, and the production announced an impressive array of distributors to go with them, with release dates all set for the following September. Now, a very well-edited trailer has followed, the type that would get any Winslet fan excited to see her take on a role that sounds glamourous, dangerous, and world-changing.

Whether or not the film will light up critics when it hits wide release remains to be seen. But if the group is aiming to land Winslet a nod at least, the rollout is doing a very good job so far. Check out the trailer.

Here is the film's synopsis:

Beginning in the late 1930s, as Hitler amasses power in Germany, Lee Miller gains a job completing assignments for British Vogue, but is shocked by the restrictions placed on female photographers. As Hitler’s regime takes over Europe, she grows increasingly frustrated that her work is constrained by patriarchal rules, leaving her documenting the British home front. Determined to be where the action is, Miller defiantly pushes against the establishment, and with the blessing of her friend and editor Audrey Withers, she overcomes enormous obstacles and gets herself to the frontline of World War II. 

Immediately compelled to document the truth, she turns her lens in the direction of suffering and slowly begins to reveal the horrific loss of life due to Hitler’s diabolical crimes against the innocent victims of his regime. She carried out this dangerous work for the sake of the female readers of Vogue Magazine, from whom the reality of war was largely kept hidden. Miller joins forces with Life Magazine photographer David E. Scherman; their friendship and partnership yield an indelible series of pictures sent back to the U.S. and England, which to this day continue to shape how we view these events.

Winslet costars alongside Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman), Andrea Riseborough (Alice & Jack), Andy Samberg (Brooklyn 99), Josh O’Connor (The Crown), and Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose).

The film is based on The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose, directed by Ellen Kuras, with a screenplay by Liz Hannah, John Collee, and Marion Hume. The film is produced by Winslet, Kate Solomon, Troy Lum, Andrew Mason, Marie Savare, and Lauren Hantz. 

Lee will debut in the U.K. on Friday, September 13, 2024, and in the U.S. a week later on Friday, September 20, 2024.