Maurice (1987)

James Ivory’s 1987 gay period drama MAURICE was adapted from the 1914 novel of the same name by gay author E.M. Forster (which wasn’t published until 1971).

The film, from gay writer/director James Ivory, is set in Edwardian England (early 1900s) and follows Maurice (James Wilby) as he begins to explore his homosexuality with Clive (Hugh Grant), a friend at university. The two fall in love, but their romance is unfortunately short-lived because of the repressive world they live in. Despite the heartache, it’s not long before Maurice finds love again – with Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves), the gamekeeper working for Clive.

“Publishable. But worth it?” were the words written by Forster on the original unpublished 1914 manuscript. Homosexuality wasn’t decriminalized in England until 1967, so it’s not surprising that Forster was apprehensive about publishing “Maurice” and requested for the novel to be released posthumously.

Rare for the time, “Maurice” is a queer love story that has a happy ending; Forster wrote the following in 1960:

“A happy ending was imperative. I shouldn’t have bothered to write otherwise. I was determined that in fiction anyway two men should fall in love and remain in it for the ever and ever that fiction allows, and in this sense Maurice and Alec still roam the greenwood. I dedicated it ‘To a Happier Year’ and not altogether vainly. Happiness is its keynote.”


MAURICE is streaming on Tubi & Criterion (Canada/USA), Kanopy and Cohen Media Channel (USA), Mubi (UK), and available for rent/purchase (USA/UK) through AppleTV & Amazon. It’s also available on DVD and Blu-ray.

MAURICE
1987. UK.

Director: James Ivory
Screenplay: James Ivory & Kit Hesketh-Harvey
Based on: Maurice (1914) by E. M. Forster

Starring: James Wilby, Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, Mark Tandy, Ben Kingsley, Denholm Elliott, Simon Callow, Billie Whitelaw, Barry Foster, Judy Parfitt & Phoebe Nicholls