Radioactive (film)

Radioactive

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2019
Founder	Marjane Satrapi (director), Jack Thorne (writer)
Products	Biographical drama film
Parent	StudioCanal, Working Title Films, Amazon Studios

Radioactive is a 2019 British biographical drama featuring Rosamund Pike portraying Marie Curie. Directed by Marjane Satrapi and scripted by Jack Thorne, the film is an adaptation of the 2010 graphic novel Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout created by artist Lauren Redniss.

The movie debuted as the Closing Night Gala at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Its theatrical release scheduled for 2020 was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a digital launch in the UK on 15 June 2020 through StudioCanal and availability on Amazon Prime Video in the United States starting 24 July 2020.

Plot

In 1934, Marie Curie suffers a collapse in her Parisian laboratory, prompting reflections on her career, which began with early funding denials due to the steadfast principles she and Pierre Curie upheld. Working together in their laboratory, they develop a romantic relationship, marry, and uncover polonium and radium, laying the foundation for radioactivity—a breakthrough that transformed physics and chemistry.

Their findings paved the way for commercial radium applications. Though Pierre declines the Légion d'honneur because it excludes Marie, and they jointly receive the Nobel Prize in Physics, conflict emerges when he accepts the honor alone. Pierre later meets an untimely death linked to his experimental work.

Initially, Marie minimizes the dangers of radium exposure; however, as fatalities among those exposed increase, public concern grows. She endures scandal over an affair with colleague Paul Langevin amid xenophobic attacks related to her Polish heritage. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911, she defies advisories against attending and receives a standing ovation at the ceremony.

During World War I, encouraged by her daughter Irene, Marie operates X-ray machines on the Western Front to assist medical treatment decisions. Irene’s relationship with Frédéric Joliot-Curie leads to further research into artificial radioactivity despite Marie’s health warnings.

The story interlaces future consequences of their discoveries—including advances in radiotherapy, atomic bombings, nuclear testing, and disasters—emphasizing their lasting worldwide impact. As Marie passes away peacefully, she envisions these subsequent events.

The film closes by highlighting the Curies’ enduring contributions: mobile X-ray units saving lives during WWI, foundational work enabling radiotherapy development, and Irene and Frédéric Joliot-Curie’s 1935 discovery of induced radioactivity. The final scene depicts Marie at the 1927 Solvay Conference alongside distinguished physicists such as Albert Einstein.

Production

In February 2017, it was revealed that director Marjane Satrapi would lead a biographical film about Marie Curie, produced by StudioCanal and Working Title Films, with production initially slated for autumn 2017. At the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, Rosamund Pike was announced as the lead actress.

By February 2018, Amazon Studios had acquired US distribution rights as filming commenced in Budapest and Esztergom, Hungary. Soon after, principal cast members including Sam Riley, Anya Taylor-Joy, Aneurin Barnard, and Simon Russell Beale were added to the ensemble.

Release

The film Radioactive debuted as the Closing Night Gala at the Toronto International Film Festival on 14 September 2019. Its UK premiere took place at the Curzon Mayfair Cinema on 8 March 2020, coinciding with International Women's Day, prior to an intended theatrical release on 20 March that was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, StudioCanal distributed the film in the United Kingdom via electronic sell-through starting 15 June 2020, followed by video on demand availability from 6 July and a DVD release on 27 July. In the United States, where Amazon Studios had initially planned a theatrical launch for 24 April 2020, Radioactive was instead made available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video beginning 24 July 2020.

Critical response

On the review aggregator platform Rotten Tomatoes, Radioactive holds an approval rating based on a number of reviews, with an average score reflecting mixed opinions. The site's critics consensus remarks that despite weaknesses in the screenplay and some counterproductive narrative decisions, Rosamund Pike's leading performance provides a heartfelt homage to an extraordinary scientific figure. Meanwhile, Metacritic assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100 from 31 critic reviews, categorizing the reception as "mixed or average."

Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter commended Pike's portrayal, the film’s pacing, and its handling of the subject matter. Conversely, The Independent awarded two stars, criticizing the overtly obvious dialogue that diminishes each scene’s impact. Charles Bramesco from The Guardian described the film as formulaic, pointing to flaws in both script and direction, and rated it one out of five stars. Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail suggested that audiences might find greater enjoyment in exploring a comic book version instead.

Controversy

Although adapted from a graphic novel published in 2010, the film was promoted as a "biopic" about Marie Curie. Geraldine McGinty of Cornell University voiced concerns regarding historical inaccuracies and misrepresentations of Curie and her husband—for instance, portraying Curie as absent from the 1905 Nobel Prize ceremony where Pierre Curie delivered their acceptance lecture. McGinty argued that misleading comparisons, character distortions, as well as scenes featuring unsuitable nudity and violence render the film inappropriate for educational or biographical purposes.