Synopsis
The story of Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie and her extraordinary scientific discoveries—through the prism of her marriage to husband Pierre—and the seismic and transformative effects their discovery of radium had on the 20th century.
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Cast
- Rosamund PikeMarie Curie
- Sam RileyPierre Curie
- Aneurin BarnardPaul Langevin
- Simon Russell BealeProfessor Lippmann
- Katherine ParkinsonJeanne Langevin
- Sian BrookeBronia Sklodowska
- Anya Taylor-JoyIrène Aged 18
- Yvette FeuerCarla
- Mirjam NovakNurse
- Ralph BerkinDoctor
Recommendations
- 84
Paste Magazine
Life, death, science, mysticism, love and hate blend together to reveal depths of an internationally renowned genius. Deeply personal, sometimes tipping into the experimental, Radioactive is like no biographical feature I’ve ever seen. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Pike creates an admirable if flawed Marie whose graceful womanhood battles with her fears of being exploited or bypassed for her gender. - 70
Variety
As startling as it is to see the beloved scientist hated in her time, that we’re able to see this headstrong legend as a sexual being at all is a credit to how much Pike gradually humanizes her as a woman, while never pleading for our pity. - 67
IndieWire
As directed by Marjane Satrapi, this discursive biopic struggles whenever it cuts away from her drama to explore the bigger picture — with peculiar flash-forwards to a nuclear future — but Pike helps fuse it together. - 60
Screen Daily
Though sometimes disappointingly broad, Radioactive nonetheless possesses a thoughtfulness that gives the film its stubborn spark. - 58
The Playlist
If Radioactive spent more significant time with Curie’s eccentricities . . . we might have arrived at a real character study. Instead, the biopic’s strained narrative bonds dissolve, awash in a series of disconnected events. - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
The problem is not so much Satrapi’s theatrical approach to the subject, which veers wildly from the overwrought to the dramatically compelling, as it is Jack Thorne’s abysmal script, full of clunky exposition about isolating elements, curing cancer and refusing sexism. - 40
Empire
The vital story of a singular trailblazer is brought to life with surprising ambition and a committed Rosamund Pike, but such inventive methods confuse the crux of Marie Curie’s intelligence, with alienating storytelling rendering her humanity impenetrable.
