hen set out to try and make a film about the photographer Lee Miller, she knew it couldn't show everything. "She lived such a vast life, it would have been impossible to make a film about all of it," Winslet told TIME when speaking for a . So Winslet, who produced the film and stars in it, decided to home in on one era in particular for what would become , which premiered at last year’s and is out in theaters Sept.
27. The movie, directed by , mainly takes place during World War II when Miller was on the front lines, taking some of the most iconic photos to emerge from the Blitz, the liberation of Paris, and the and . Winslet portrays Miller as an unapologetic force and pioneer in her field, who is specifically attuned to the suffering of those she captures in images.
The screenplay by , John Collee, and Marion Hume has a flashback structure in which Miller, who was born in 1907 and died in 1977, is being interviewed later in life by a journalist, later revealed to be her son, Antony Penrose, played by Josh O'Connor. It's an apt detail given that the film is based on a section of Penrose's 1985 book . Penrose opens his biography by writing: "Lee Miller, fashion model.
Lee Miller, photographer. Lee Miller, war correspondent. Lee Miller, writer.
Lee Miller, aficionado of classical music. Lee Miller, cook. Lee Miller, traveler.
In all her different worlds she moved with freedom. In all her roles she was her own bold self." By the time we meet the eponymous subject of , she has.