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E.M. Forster`s provocative 1914 novel, published posthumously in 1971, is brought to the screen by director James Ivory in this beautifully photographed film. Set in pre-World War I England, the film concerns the coming of age of two young men who meet at Cambridge University and fall in love. Maurice (James Wilby, who played Anthony Hopkins`s son, Charles Wilcox, in REMAINS OF THE DAY) and Clive (Hugh Grant) struggle with their hearts within the confines of a rigid society`s moral hypocrisy. Clive eventually succumbs to a traditional life after witnessing the social banishment and imprisonment endured by another gay friend, Viscount Risley (Mark Tandy). But Maurice struggles with his sexual desires and chooses a more difficult, but honest, way of life. When a young gamekeeper (Rupert Graves) returns his affections, Maurice experiences his first real happiness. The film deals with trademark Merchant-Ivory themes involving individuals who are trapped by their society`s strict conventions and who often attempt to break free, with varying consequences of fulfillment or disaster.
Set against the stifling conformity of pre-World War I English society, E.M. Forster's Maurice is a story of coming to terms with one's sexuality and identity in the face of disapproval and misunderstanding. Maurice Hall (James Wilby) and Clive Durham (Hugh Grant) find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. In a time when homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment, the two must keep their feelings for one another a complete secret. After a friend is arrested and disgraced for 'the unspeakable vice of the Greeks,' Clive abandons his forbidden love and marries a young woman. Maurice, however, struggles with his identity and self-confidence, seeking the help of a hypnotist to rid himself of his undeniable urges. But while staying with Clive and his shallow wife, Anne, Maurice is seduced by the affectionate and yearning servant Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves), an event that brings about profound changes in Maurice's life and outlook. Sparkling direction by James Ivory, distinguished performances from the ensemble cast, and a charged score by Richard Robbins all combine to create a film of immense power, one that is romantic, moving, and a story of love and self-discovery for all audiences.
Hugh Grant