Radioactive movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE:  Radioactive                                            Now on Amazon!

RATING:  PG-13

LENGTH:    1 hour, 49 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE:   B-

IN A NUTSHELL:

Directed by Marjane Satrapi, this drama features the true story of Nobel prize-winning Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867 – 1934).  In addition to her incredible contributions to physics and chemistry, she’s the only one in history to win 2 Novel prizes.  The movie is based on the graphic novel Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss with the screenplay written by Jack Thorne.

It was supposed to debut on International Women’s Day but, like everything else this worldwide pandemic has touched, the release was postponed until now on Amazon Prime this week.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• There is a split second when you see two make people run and jump into a lake.  Yes, you see skin and other things.  That surprised me for a PG-13 movie.  Why?  It wasn’t needed to move the story forward.
• You see a married couple tossing around in bed briefly with some skin showing.
• An unmarried couple is seen in bed, but you don’t see any “action.”
• Infidelity and talk of “intimate” relations

THEMES:

• “The things that make us weak are the things that make us strong.” – Marie Curie
• Persistence, determination
• Equal rights for women
• The quest for knowledge
• Choice and consequence
• Humanity
• Love.  Love of science and romantic love.
• Humility in the face of innovation and invention
• Whether mankind is ready for the benefits of nature or whether it will do harm
• The double standard for men and women

THINGS I LIKED:

• I love Rosamund Pike in everything she does.  I love that she’s fascinated with the element radium that “doesn’t behave as it should”, just like her.  You’ll learn so many things about her and her story needs to be told. While Marie Curie’s inventions brought humanity life-saving applications, I thought it was interesting that the film also pointed out the negative consequences.
• Sam Riley plays Pierre Curie
• If you ever watched The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Series (Limited Edition Blu-ray + Digital), you might have already learned a thing or two about some of these scientific elements.
• The movie starts out showing off its agifying magic on Rosamund Pike by displaying an old, dying Marie Curie who reflects back on her life.
• It’s helpful to have a character who doesn’t understand science so that Marie and Pierre can teach her and us at the same time.
• My university students have been writing essays this week about which counts more: hard work or talent.  I think this movie answers the debate.  While brilliant, Marie Curie still had to work extremely hard to achieve her goals.
• There is an interesting scene where Pierre and Marie argue about whether or not religion can be considered.  Pierre points out that you can’t see reactivity, yet it’s real.  Marie dismisses the idea, which is odd since scientists should be open to all possibilities in the search of truth.
• There are some scenes that show future events and consequences of her discoveries.  In most cases, they are powerful, albeit forced.  She worried that her work would hurt people, but someone told her that it was her job to bring light to the world and to not worry about the ripples.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• The filming itself feels a bit clumsy.
• The director tries to get creative with an artsy-fartsy dream sequence, but it doesn’t quite work.
• I have no idea what Marie Curie was like in real life, but it always annoys me when movies portray brilliant people as stubborn and rude.
• I wish more time had spent on the good things that Marie Curie’s discoveries accomplished, like the X-ray machine and cancer treatments, rather than on just the deadly bombs that would destroy life.
• Some of the music was just odd and distracting.
• All of the characters seem to age except Professor Lippmann (Simon Russell Beale).
• The color palette is very grey in the 1800s, which is appropriate, but it felt like things should have lightened up in the 1900s.
• Why don’t the British say “the” hospital?

FUNNY LINES:

• “Fame is for idiots.” – Marie Curie

INTERESTING LINES:

• “When have other people’s opinions ever affected anything I’ve done?”  – Marie Curie
• “Instinct is not a particularly scientific reason.” – Marie Cure                “No, but it’s still a reason.” – Pierre Curie
• “While I’ll never consider you MY woman, I would like to share my life with you.” – Pierre Curie
• “I can feel our work glowing out.  I can feel it changing the world.” – Pierre Curie
• “You must always be thinking about something.” – Marie Curie
• “It’s time to make this war your war.” – Irene aged 18   (Anya Taylor-Joy)

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