Radioactive – A Disappointingly Generic Biopic

Marie Curie was a trailblazer at a time when women were not allowed much. She fought very hard to disrupt the status quo and put herself on the map as a physicist and a chemist. Unfortunately, Radioactive is the latest biopic that didn’t get much inspiration from its subject, resulting in another by-the-book biopic.

Radioactive starts off simply enough as Curie (Pike) faces off with the heads of her department at the University of Paris. She’s demanding more funding for her research, since he is aware that her male counterparts are getting bigger chunks than her. There, she meets Pierre Curie (Riley) a professor who gets interested in her research – and in her. Despite her unwillingness to engage, they end up falling in love and getting married, eventually having two girls. From there, the Curies become a highly regarded couple in the research world, though one where Marie was seen as the lesser one when, in fact, it was quite the contrary. Her brilliance was instrumental for their first Nobel Prize award before she later won a second one on her own. Pierre, always sick, gets even worse as they worked at separating radium, unaware of the malign effects radiation could impose to those who got exposed to it.

Even after her first Nobel Prize, Marie’s life was still a great struggle. After Pierre’s tragic death, she becomes persecuted by the French society who attempt to propel her back to her home country of Poland. That was the same time the Dreyfus affair was happening. The news she is having an affair with one of Pierre’s old students certainly didn’t help her case as her subsequent exposure to radiation took a toll on her. Marie’s story is a fantastic tale of a woman who refused to accept the role assigned to her by society, rather wishing to develop her intellect and put her brilliance to use. This alone had the potential to be strong story and one bound to become an emotional experience.

However as far as Radioactive was concerned, this was not the case which was quite disappointing. The film fails to bring anything new to the table while never seemingly inspiring any kind of emotional reaction from the audience whatsoever. The film may be interesting to watch but is never one worth investing in on any deeper emotional level. It is a cold, distant film, which is an odd choice as it goes against the passion Marie held for her studies (even though we cannot really understand what she is actually studying). Meanwhile, the film flash forwards to the future, to highlight Marie’s impact on history. Unfortunately, this choice merely comes off as weird and out of place.

What truly elevates Radioactive was Pike’s performance as Marie Curie. Pike is clearly a gifted actress with one of her trademarks is delivering intelligent and strong performances without being overly emotional. That doesn’t mean we don’t see emotion from her, she finds the right balance without overdoing it, which is always nice to see. She and Riley, as Pierre Curie, also make a good pair.

In the end, Radioactive may be a decent film but it is also one that never manages to thrill us the way its subject deserves.

still courtesy of Amazon Studios

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