Pioneer – Rebel – Genius. Radioactive is an incredible, true story of Marie Curie and her Nobel Prize-winning work that changed the world.
“Radioactive” follows the life of Marie Curie (Rosamund Pike) who, with the help of her husband, Pierre (Sam Riley), found the element radium. Their discovery took the world by storm and Marie, in particular, made lasting impressions on the scientific community for being the first person to win two Nobel Prizes in two different fields.
From the very beginning of the film, you understand that all Marie wants to do, is her work. She’s incredibly intelligent, independent, and hard-working. When she catches the interest of Pierre, she dismisses him, citing that her focus on her work is more important than any flirtation. However, he backs her work when no one else will and they begin to collaborate together.
The first half of the film feels like a love story. Marie and Pierre are very sweet together and are very much in love. Pike and Riley have fantastic chemistry together and the two seem to have a near-perfect marriage. Pierre always supported Marie and fought for her to get recognition, and while Marie did not care much about that, in the end, you can tell that it meant a lot to her.
There are not many grand elements to the film itself, but I did find Marie’s life to be fascinating. She is someone who has been through a lot, who was often underserved and not taken seriously because she is a woman. Pike is easily the best part of the film and from her performance, I was able to see why Marie Curie was considered a force to be reckoned with. Her character has stuck with me and the more I think about the film, the more I’m utterly amazed by her.
I find it sad that Marie is such an accomplished woman in her field, yet I never heard of her before this film. This is a testament to how little regard is given to women in science in our education. Pike and director Marjane Satrapi understood who Marie was perfectly.
As I am not a science person, I cannot say that I found the scientific parts of the film particularly interesting. It’s hard to make a discovery of an element feel cinematic, and the only noticeable thing about radium is that it glows. There was one sequence in the film that flashes to the major negative effect of radium, the creation of the atomic bomb. While I understand the intent of this sequence, I found that it did feel out of place.
Overall, I would say that “Radioactive” is an informative biopic that shines a light on the brilliant Marie Curie. And while the scientific parts of the film felt a bit flat for me, Rosamund Pike’s performance more than made up for it. Marie feels like a modern woman, despite living in the 19th century. Hopefully, this film will educate those who, like me, had never heard of Marie Curie before and will help further her legacy.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video Friday, July 24th
