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Science and love are essential elements in Amazon's new film 'Radioactive'

Rosamund Pike and Sam Riley play Nobel Prize-winning scientists Marie and Pierre Curie. #k5evening

SEATTLE — Marie Curie was the first woman to win two Nobel Prizes and the only person to win them in two different scientific fields.

She’s a legend.

But in Radioactive, she's also portrayed as a human - vulnerable and broken at times - by an actress who's well versed in formidable roles: Rosamund Pike.

"I just liked how unfiltered she was,” Pike said. “The only thing I think it did teach me is how much of our lives are taken up with worry about how something will seem or how something will come across. And she was just not bogged down by any of that and it gave her so much freedom."

But Madame Curie didn't do it alone. Her husband Pierre was her equal, in love and intellect. He’s played by Same Riley.

"As we were doing these scenes and imagining ourselves in their place, there was something just really beautiful about it,” he said. “Not only their extraordinary brilliance, but their love for one another and understanding for one another."

When it comes to the science on-screen, the director Marjane Satrapi was precise. Every calculation on a chalkboard or book was sound.

"Oh yes, I think that's so important. Science is factual, it's no subject of interpretation,” she said. "Me being sure, I give this assurance to whoever watches the film. So yes, they are accurate."

Satrapi's original and inventive imagery is memorable, as are the performances by Pike and Riley. But the script is uninspired and, at times, simply boring.

Still, Radioactive gives a lesson in the importance and impact of science – at a time when it’s at the forefront of global conversation.

Radioactive is rated PG-13 and is available via Amazon Prime starting July 24.

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