Review of Radioactive
midlandsmovies • June 30, 2020
Radioactive (2020) Directed by Marjane Satrapi
Rosamund Pike stars as Maria Skłodowska-Curie in this curious graphic novel adaptation of the legendary scientist whose famous experiments on radiation made huge scientific leaps but also led to much tragedy.
Pike has previous form playing real life heroines with misfortunate end stories (A Private War
& Entebbe) and injects her exciting acting skills into the life of the physicist who conducted pioneering explorations on radioactivity.
Alongside Pike is Sam Riley (Control, Free Fire) as Marie’s eventual husband Pierre Curie and the film’s beginning shows their joint passion for revolutionary research alongside their personal love which begins to fuse them together at the same time.
Pike unfortunately has a clunky script to deal with. It gives her the most basic of motivations as she deals with a “man’s world” whilst also trying to push herself through the establishment and various academic barriers.
The film continues by showing the major milestones of her life as she wins the Nobel Prize twice, as well as becoming the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris. The eclectic films and style of director Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis and the underrated The Voices with Ryan Reynolds) spill over into Radioactive too. As well as the era-specific wardrobe of Paris, Satrapi injects shots of animated atoms and CGI fusion processes to help explain the science.
This unfortunately muddles its tone somewhat but, alongside some experimental and visual “fire-dance” sequences, made it more than just your standard period drama. Another success was the score which included interesting instruments and arrangements involving the theremin and the percussive clinks of glass (test tubes?). Bubbling over from one scene to the next, the use of electronica was strange for a period drama but far more interesting than standard orchestral strings.
Less successful though are the heavy-handed flash-forward scenes of radiation use in hospitals, h-bomb tests (with nasty Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull vibes), and recreations of Hiroshima and the fallout of Chernobyl. Slightly cheap and as tacky as a Family Guy cutaway gag, they felt an unnecessary distraction from the central story.
As Curie shares her discovery with the world, it slowly becomes apparent that the new elements are extremely poisonous despite their “illuminating” natural glows.
Pike radiates on screen but her character’s harsh façade melts down when her husband dies and the late addition of Anya Taylor-Joy as her daughter Irene Curie demonstrates the under-utilization of a good support cast. The film quickly zooms by both their work on X-Rays during World War I and the racism faced as a Polish immigrant.
In the end, Radioactive covers far too much time during Curie’s life leading to a rushed biopic flashing by aspects of her work and personal journey too quickly. Similar to the recent The Current War, the material is too dense for the film to do justice to. And whilst there are many elements to enjoy, mainly the committed cast, the film will probably garner a lukewarm reaction on its release at best.
Michael Sales
Local film critic Jacob Holmes heads outside the region to the BFI London Film Festival. In our latest Midlands on the Move feature, Jacob shares some helpful hints in a first timers guide to what to expect when visiting these type of events that may be new to local filmmakers and film fans. In 2025 I had the honour of attending the 69 th BFI London Film Festival for a week, I attending premieres for some of my most anticipated films of the year. And even grabbed a press pass too. This wasn’t my first film festival, but this was my first London Film Fest and to be brutally honest, in the build-up, I was nervous! Sadly, I found the BFI and Accreditation websites not very intuitive and quite confusing. So this this article hopes to give some peace of mind and let people know what they can expect when attending such UK festivals - both as a regular guest and as press. Tickets Getting regular tickets can be stressful, akin to a big concert. And in a way it's like the Hunger Games, a survival of the fittest type of vibe. First off, BFI advertise tickets go on sale at 10am in September, which is true but not wholly accurate. Instead, at 9am you head to the website and get put in a waiting room with a random allocated number for when the actual sale start at 10am. At that time it tells you where you are in the queue. If you get lucky, you could wait 15 minutes, but often the wait can be an hour plus. Finally when you can make a purchase, you are let in and can put all tickets into your basket. I have two years of experience with this queue! The first time, I failed completely and all movies I wanted to see were sold out. But this year I had a plan! The key to success is knowledge to how to play the game. Tip 1: For the best possible chances, subscribe to the BFI and become a member. The year membership was £35 at its cheapest. And if you're in the Midlands like I am, outside the festival a membership can be fairly useless unless you go to London often. But what this membership gives you is important. A week before general release there is a presale for BFI members. Not only is this a benefit, it also gives you a crucial second chance. By that I mean if things don't go your way the first time, you can try again in the general sale. And I had to do exactly this. When general admissions came out, I tried again for tickets for Wake Up Dead Man and got my ticket! Tip 2: Quantity. There's nothing against the rules saying you can’t enter the queue on multiple devices! I was placed very low down in the queue in my first year on one laptop, but this year I used my phone, PC, laptop, my friend's laptops AND my friends' devices! But it all paid off. Devices can take 2 hours or only 30 minutes. More Devices = Higher chance of getting tickets. Tip 3: Know the films you want to see beforehand. If you don’t know what films you want to see or when they screen you will be completely lost. Write a timetable - and furthermore, have back up plans. Sometimes you'll click on what you want and it will be sold out, but having a backup plan will be much easier overall. Tip 4: Even if you don’t get tickets, it's not the end of the world. There are plenty of second-hand ticket websites selling tickets at normal (or sometimes cheaper) prices. Websites like Twickets, social media accounts like @LFFstubs on X or the r/londonfilmfestival on Reddit will have second-hand tickets. In fact, I sold one of my tickets on Twickets and had no complaints either. Press passes As you can imagine, this process is very different for industry passes. The biggest issue is tickets go on sale in waves each day. Instead of one go, pass holders book their tickets day by day. Tickets go on sale at 8am two days before, usually taking place on the accreditation app or website. In some ways this is easier, but it's also a gigantic pain. Although it's MUCH easier to get a ticket, do have to wake up every single day to go onto a laggy website and book a few tickets. You may even have to book tickets in the cinema. Another issue can be if you plan to see both general and press screenings. One you book way in advance, but press screenings are booked during the fest. Ticket prices for public screenings vary, but the gala/premiere screenings are usually £30-£40. Whilst the press screenings are completely free, you just have to pay for the pass itself which is around £55.
Developed as part of the anthology, Serial, Royston Vale Road is a slight, comedy-heavy, found footage short directed by Chris Annable, co-owner of the Straight to Video movie memorabilia and tape store in Alfreton.
Dead on Distribution tries to tackle a lot in its brief 17-minute runtime. Taking place just as the VHS market was starting to boom, flooding shelves with low budget horrors, the film satirises the prevailing thoughts of the time.
Continuing the cinema’s excellent reputation for themed events – such as Paracinema and the folk horror day Darkness in the Fields – the Derby Quad put together a programme of local and international found footage films.