Maurice (1987)

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James Wilby and Hugh Grant star as young lovers driven apart by oppressive heteronormativity in pre-World War I England. The two meet in college and cautiously profess their love for one another. But when a fellow gay student is put on trial for immorality and his career promises ruined, Clive (Grant) gets cold feet and decides to live a ‘straight’ lifestyle. The two remain close friends through thick and thin, as Maurice (Wilby) submits to psychiatry and hypnotherapy to ‘fix’ his condition. But when he meets a young gamekeeper (Rupert Graves) in Clive’s employment, he’s pulled back to what his heart desires.

Maurice is a sumptuous period production from producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, returning to author E.M. Forster after 1986’s A Room with a View. (They would later produce a third Forster adaptation, Howard’s End.) The rustic, rural locations and recreations of early 1900s city life are a powerful asset to the film — perhaps its strongest. Hugh Grant (About a Boy, Love Actually) makes a splash in his first starring film role. Unfortunately, the film succeeds in sharing his point-of-view more than its namesake’s. James Wilby’s performance feels manic at times, keeping us at arm’s length when we need to be able to step into his shoes. Simon Callow has the juiciest supporting role, playing a teacher who explains human sexuality to young Maurice through crude diagrams scratched into a sandy shore.

Merchant and Ivory create a compelling portrait of stifling homophobia in Maurice, but the film never becomes the character study it should be. We invest in the relationship between Maurice and Clive, but once it falls apart, Maurice has trouble carrying the story on his own. Things become more problematic when he falls for Rupert Grave’s character. The two characters have nothing in common and there’s no chemistry between the actors, either. On one hand, perhaps it should be applauded when a gay-themed film opts for a happier ending. On the other hand, a sad ending is so much more believable.

With Denholm Elliott and Ben Kingsley.

Oscar Nomination: Best Costume Design