"The Oscar Wilde sort" - The lasting legacy of Maurice

Maurice is a 1987 romantic drama directed by James Ivory which captivatingly explores the beautiful and intense love story of E.M. Forster’s unpublished novel. The film explores the English boarding school environment of the Edwardian period, introducing Maurice and Clive played by James Wilby and Hugh Grant. At Cambridge the two engage in a passionate love affair. This, however, is overshadowed by Clive’s concern for his political future, especially following Oscar Wilde’s trial. As time passes the two drift apart, Maurice infatuated and heartbroken while Clive fearfully prioritizes his reputation by marrying Anne (Phoebe Nicholls) and retreating to a domestic life on the family estate of Pendersleigh. While Maurice struggles with his sexuality, seeking help from a hypnotherapist, he is invited to stay at Pendersleigh where he meets Clive’s gamekeeper Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves). The two quickly bond and fall in love, allowing Maurice to come to terms with his sexuality and choose to lead a life with somebody he truly loves rather than the isolated life Clive has chosen. The film entrances the viewer not only with its charming cinematography and scenery but also its emotional exploration of queer life at a time of oppression and longing. 

Maurice is a film I return to constantly, whether for its breathtaking score or the beautiful cinematography.  It is one of those films I wish I could rewatch for the first time, to get swept up in the passion of Maurice and Clive’s beginnings and drown merrily in my own tears upon witnessing Maurice and Scudder’s happy ending. The book is also a personal favourite, in part because it was the first novel I read which ended with a queer relationship that sees both characters at ease, content and in love. It was a sharp departure from the ‘bury your gays’ trope I and many others had grown used to seeing and consuming through almost all forms of media. Let me tell you, I was shocked to find out the novel had been written between 1913-1914 (understandably yet depressingly published decades later). It’s worth noting, that if I had a nickel for every time an actor from a queer British historical drama made in the 1980s went on to be in a cult classic romcom with Julia Roberts, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice right? (Context for my silly reference: Hugh Grant featured in both Maurice and Notting Hill, while Rupert Everett featured in both Another Country and My Best Friend’s Wedding). Anyways, I will inevitably write more extensively on this film when I get the chance, but for now, take this as a little introduction to the film, and a suggestion to go watch it if you haven’t. (Or rewatch it if you have!)