Radioactive (film)

Radioactive is a 2019 British biographical drama film directed by Marjane Satrapi and starring Rosamund Pike as Marie Curie. The film is based on the 2010 graphic novel by Lauren Redniss.[3]

Radioactive
Theatrical release poster
with the original release date
Directed byMarjane Satrapi
Produced by
Screenplay byJack Thorne
Based onRadioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout
by Lauren Redniss
Starring
Music by
  • Evgueni Galperine
  • Sacha Galperine
CinematographyAnthony Dod Mantle
Edited byStéphane Roche
Production
companies
Distributed byStudioCanal
Release date
  • 14 September 2019 (2019-09-14) (TIFF)
  • 15 June 2020 (2020-06-15) (United Kingdom)
Running time
109 minutes[1][2]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.7 million[1]

The film premiered as the Closing Night Gala at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. It was released digitally in the United Kingdom on 15 June 2020 by StudioCanal.

Synopsis

The film documents the life and work of Marie Curie: meeting her husband and research partner Pierre (Sam Riley), discovering polonium and radium, the tragic loss of Pierre to a trampling horse, and her affair with colleague Paul Langevin (Aneurin Barnard). Scenes of her life are interwoven with scenes depicting the future impact of her discoveries, including brachytherapy, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Manhattan Project, and the Chernobyl disaster.

Cast

Production

Development

It was announced in February 2017 that Marjane Satrapi would direct a biopic on the life of Marie Curie, with StudioCanal and Working Title Films serving as producers. An "autumn 2017" production start was initially foreseen.[4] In May 2017, during the Cannes Film Festival, Rosamund Pike was cast as Curie.[5]

Filming

In February 2018, Amazon Studios acquired the US distribution rights to the film, with filming beginning in the Hungarian cities of Budapest and Esztergom the same week.[6][7] The cast was rounded out by Sam Riley, Anya Taylor-Joy, Aneurin Barnard and Simon Russell Beale a few days later.[8]

Release

Radioactive premiered as the Closing Night Gala at the Toronto International Film Festival on 14 September 2019.[9][10][11] To celebrate International Women's Day, the film's UK premiere took place at the Curzon Mayfair Cinema on 8 March 2020, ahead of its intended 20 March theatrical release,[12] which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] StudioCanal eventually released the film in the United Kingdom on digital platforms on 15 June 2020 and through video on demand on 6 July, followed by a DVD release on 27 July.[14] In the United States, where the film was originally set to be released theatrically on 24 April 2020 by Amazon Studios,[15] it was released on 24 July 2020 on Prime Video.[16]

Reception

Critical response

As of 17 August 2020, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 61% based on 130 reviews, with an average rating of 6.02/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Radioactive's flawed script and counterproductive storytelling choices are offset by Rosamund Pike's central performance in a sincere tribute to a brilliant scientific mind."[2] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]

Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter praised Pike's performance, the pacing and the treatment of the subject.[18] The Independent[19] gave it two stars and criticized the, 'On-the-nose writing that sucks the air out of every scene, as characters ceremoniously announce the film's themes and their personal motivations.' The Guardian panned the film as 'by-the-numbers', criticizing the script and direction, and gave it one star out of five.[20] Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail concluded "... the viewer may decide she'd rather read a comic book."[21]

Controversy

Although the film is actually based on the 2010 graphic novel Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss,[3] it is marketed as a "biopic" on Marie Curie. Geraldine McGinty of Cornell University severely criticised the film not just for altering many historical events for dramatic effect, but for misrepresenting her character and that of her husband, e.g. by saying that she stayed home rather than attending the 1905 Nobel ceremony with Pierre, where he belatedly delivered the lecture for their 1903 prize.[22] McGinty said that its misleading analogies, misrepresentation of principal characters, and inappropriate nudity and violence, all make it unsuitable as an educational or biographical source.[22] It depicts her as advising her daughter Irene against a career in science, when in fact she encouraged her daughter in science, started an experimental school for her daughter in which she taught lessons on physics, and welcomed her daughter into her laboratory.

References
  1. "Radioactive (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. "Radioactive (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. Kennedy, Margaret (5 February 2019). "Marjane Satrapi's Marie Curie Biopic Starring Rosamund Pike Set For 2020 Release". The Playlist. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  4. Tartaglione, Nancy; Tartaglione, Nancy (16 February 2017). "Marjane Satrapi To Helm 'Radioactive' Marie Curie Story For Working Title & Studiocanal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  5. Hopewell, John; Keslassy, Elsa (16 May 2017). "Rosamund Pike Set for Marie Curie Story 'Radioactive' From Working Title, Studiocanal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  6. "Varsóvá változott a Víziváros". Szeretgom.hu (in Hungarian). 19 February 2018.
  7. Keslassy, Elsa (19 February 2018). "Amazon Boards Marjane Satrapi's Marie Curie Biopic 'Radioactive' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  8. Roxborough, Scott (22 February 2018). "Berlin: Sam Riley, Anya Taylor-Joy, Aneurin Barnard Join Marie Curie Biopic 'Radioactive'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. "World Premiere of Radioactive Is the TIFF 2019 Closing Night Gala Film" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  10. "Radioactive". TIFF. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  11. Lang, Brent (23 July 2019). "Toronto Film Festival: 'Joker,' 'Ford v Ferrari,' 'Hustlers' Among Big Premieres". Variety. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  12. "Marie Curie biopic 'RADIOACTIVE' gets a brand new trailer!". The Arts Shelf. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  13. Brew, Simon (19 May 2020). "Radioactive heads to digital download next month". Film Stories. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  14. "Radioactive – Press Assets". StudioCanal UK. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  15. Rosser, Michael (9 March 2020). "'Radioactive' director Marjane Satrapi reveals why she chooses not to work with US producers". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  16. Aquilina, Tyler (10 July 2020). "Rosamund Pike is Radioactive as Marie Curie in new biopic trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  17. "Radioactive Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  18. Young, Deborah (6 September 2019). "'Radioactive': Film Review | TIFF 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  19. Campbell, Kambole (7 September 2019). "Marie Curie biopic Radioactive gets lost in melodrama – review". The Independent. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  20. Bramesco, Charles (7 September 2019). "Radioactive review – Rosamund Pike flounders in toxic Marie Curie biopic". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  21. Taylor, Kate. "TIFF 2019: Updated – The Globe's latest ratings and reviews of movies screening at the festival". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  22. McGinty, Geraldine (27 July 2020). ""Radioactive" fails to tell the true Curie story". Clinical Imaging. 0 (0). doi:10.1016/j.clinimag.2020.07.019. ISSN 0899-7071.
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