Plot
After his lover rejects him, a young man trapped by the oppressiveness of Edwardian society tries to come to terms with and accept his sexuality.

Release Year: 1987

Rating: 7.5/10 (6,310 voted)

Critic's Score: 74/100

Director: James Ivory

Stars: James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Hugh Grant

Storyline
Two male English school chums find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. To regain his place in society, Clive gives up his forbidden love, Maurice (pronounced "Morris") and marries. While staying with Clive and his shallow wife, Anne, Maurice finally discovers romance in the arms of Alec, the gamekeeper. Written from personal pain, it's E.M. Forster's story of coming to terms with sexuality in the Edwardian age.

Writers: E.M. Forster, Kit Hesketh-Harvey

Cast:
James Wilby - Maurice Hall
Hugh Grant - Clive Durham
Rupert Graves - Alec Scudder
Denholm Elliott - Doctor Barry
Simon Callow - Mr. Ducie
Billie Whitelaw - Mrs. Hall
Barry Foster - Dean Cornwallis
Judy Parfitt - Mrs. Durham
Phoebe Nicholls - Anne Durham
Patrick Godfrey - Simcox
Mark Tandy - Risley
Ben Kingsley - Lasker-Jones
Kitty Aldridge - Kitty Hall
Helena Michell - Ada Hall
Catherine Rabett - Pippa Durham

Release Date: 18 September 1987

Filming Locations: Assyrian Saloon, British Museum, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London, England, UK

Box Office Details

Budget: $2,600,000 (estimated)

Gross: $3,130,592 (USA)

Runtime: 140 min

Trivia:
Just before filming the nude bed scene in the hotel, the bed that Rupert Graves and James Wilby were in collapsed.

Goofs:
Boom mic visible: When Maurice and Clive enter the auditorium at the Wigmore Hall, the boom mic is reflected in the polished wooden panels on the wall behind them.

Quotes:
Maurice Hall: I'm an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort.

This movie is timeless

Rating:

‘Maurice' had a deep emotional impact on me when I first saw it in my early teens, more than ten years ago. I just saw it again for the first time since then and I was a bit worried that I would be disappointed, but then I was definitely not. It still had the same magic.

To me, this is the #1 Merchant-Ivory work. I find this movie astoundingly profound compared to several other of their movies. This movie is above all accomplished by the excellent acting. It tells a pure and convincing story about struggling to be true to oneself in a world of not only prejudice and firm standards but even serious legal sanctions.

I think ‘Maurice' is far more romantic, and sexy, than most heterosexual love stories I have seen. The love and longing of these men seems so real and pure, especially by the fact that they are consistently being told that their inclination is `unspeakable', and their futures and careers are at stake.

It is great to see Hugh Grant in an early role (his first real movie role?) that is so different from the mainstream comedy entertainer he has become. The ending is stunning. I love that the movie ended exactly where it did, although it is a dread to acknowledge that the war would break out soon after. The music score is enthralling. And Alec Scudder is so beautiful that it hurts.

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