Maurice (1987)

Director:

James Ivory

Writers:

E.M. Forster (novel)
Kit Hesketh-Harvey (writer)

Release Date:

18 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Two male English school chums find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. To regain his place in society...

Plot Keywords:

Male Nudity | Cricket Game | Cambridge England | Gamekeeper | Entrapment

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins

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

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Hong Kong:III | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Ireland:15

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Trivia:

One of the country house locations, Wilbury Park, was owned by the actress Maria Britneva.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Maurice Hall and Clive Durham are shown attending a concert at the Wigmore Hall in London in 1911. This renowned concert venue was originally called Bechstein Hall, having been built by the famous German piano firm, and was not renamed Wigmore Hall until after the First World War, when anti-German feeling had caused the owners to sell up and Westminster Council renamed the venue.

Quotes:

Alec Scudder: Tomorrow's Thursday, Friday is packing, Saturday Southampton, so it's good-bye, Old England!
Maurice Hall: You mean that you and I shan't meet again after now?
Alec Scudder: That's right, you've got it quite correct.
Maurice Hall: Stay with me.
Alec Scudder: Stay? And miss my boat? You daft? What a bloody rubbish! Ordering about again you would.
Maurice Hall: It's a chance in a thousand we met. You know it. Why don't you stay?
Alec Scudder: Stay with you? How? And where? With your Ma? Oh yeah. What would she say if she saw me? All rough and ugly the way I am. And how would you run your job, I'd like to know?
Maurice Hall: I have to chuck it.
Alec Scudder: Your job in the city? What gives you money and position? You talk like a man who's never had to earn his living.
Maurice Hall: You can do anything. Once you know what it is. We can live without money, without people. We can live without position. We're not fools. We're both strong. There'll be some place we can go.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Clapham Junction (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Miserere Psalm 51

Tasteful, beautifully filmed British-style work...

Before Hugh Grant became a mega-star he appeared in this Merchant Ivory adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel about two Cambridge students who fall in love--and out of love--each going separate ways at the end. Hugh Grant, James Wilby and Rupert Graves give well crafted performances that show respect for their roles. Graves, in particular, is especially well cast as the dark-haired gamekeeper and gives the film its only real sense of sexual urgency. James Wilby is a bit too repressed--even in the sexual moments--to bring the character fully to life. Somehow one feels that of the three, he is the least convincing--but overall he is a more than competent actor. Grant is excellent in an unusual role for him--his sly charm displayed in a less obvious way than when he does comedy.

If the film has one flaw, it's a bit overlong with the kind of story that could have been covered in two hours of running time. But everything about it is exquisite--the photography, the sets, the costumes, all in the impeccable style we're accustomed to from Merchant Ivory. A nice coming of age story of sexuality that cannot remain dormant when close "chums" are sharing close quarters.