Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Film, 18 Feb 2008
Maurice, which is based on E.M. Forster's heartbreaking and beautiful semi-autobiographical novel of the same name is a wonderful Merchant Ivory productions.
James Wilby stars as Maurice, a young man at Cambridge who begins to develop feelings for his friend and fellow student Clive (Hugh Grant). The feeling turns out to be mutual and the friends soon fall in love with one another, but must keep their relationship secret because of the strict Edwardian society which they inhabit.
Clive maintains that the pair should keep their relationship purely "platonic" which Maurice accepts, despite feeling a need to seal their love physically. When Clive goes on a trip to Greece, he seems to snub Maurice and it soon becomes clear that he has different feelings about their affair.
Maurice is understandably heartbroken, but his ordeal is not over there. He soon discovers that Clive is engaged to be married to a woman named Anne. He is devestated. The question is, will he recover from the break-up and find love elsewhere or is he doomed to forever be without love in a society that does not accept people of his kind?
The film, which was directed by James Ivory, is a heartbreaking account of one man's struggle to accept his sexuality in a world that tells him that everything about his true inclination is wrong. It also highlights the plight of homosexuals everywhere who were forced to hide their identities because of laws against homosexuality in Britain and around the world.
The film is a joy to look at - the cinematography, the art direction and the costume design being a particular highlight - and is very beautiful, capturing the Edwardian period perfectly. James Wilby is excellent as Maurice and Hugh Grant performs well acting against type. Rupert Graves is wonderful in his supporting role as Alec Scudder, who may or may not prove to be Maurice's eventual saviour.
The actors inhabit their characters effortlessly and it is easy to feel sympathy for all of them in different ways - Maurice, Clive, Alec and even Anne, for that matter - which creates an emotional journey filled with both highs and lows.
An often overlooked and forgotten film, Maurice is brilliant and despite the long running time, should appeal to almost anyone with an open mind, a love of E.M. Forster or even of Merchant Ivory productions in general. This is a must see!
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Century Later the Feeling Is Still Strong, 3 Jun 2008
Over twenty years after it was made "Maurice" has changed into a classic but did not age at all. This coming-of-age and coming-to-terms story faithfully taken from E. M. Forster's novel was transferred into the screen with such adroitness that with the passage of time it rather increases its appeal.
We are transferred to the Edwardian England some years before the outbreak of the Great War. The main hero Maurice is an average student (it is funny to note that everybody including Maurice considers his studies a commendable pastime but generally a waste of time as he should go into business) who falls for a fellow student, an impoverished aristocrat Clive. Their romance is purely platonic which seems to suit Clive (who finally decides to change his minds and gets married which puts an end to their little fling) survives their Cambridge period but is clearly insufficient for Maurice. After failed attempts to cure himself of his illness (both medicine and hypnosis are used) he visits Clive in his estate and falls in love again - this time for a game-keeper. This love is consummated and provides an opening for a happy ending which neither Forster nor the movie actually offers.
The movie tells this story rather slowly, indulging in beautiful landscapes and period interiors, but one can hardly mind. It is simply a great movie with very decent performance from the cast - including Hugh Grant with a moustache.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tender and romantic, 17 Oct 2008
I remember I saw this movie I was about 17. I'd read the book and fell in love. It tells a love story between two men and the way they have to carry it out despite society rules (with some changes it still happens nowadays...).
The general message would be "love conquers all" but is it really so? Are Maurice and Scudder able to live happily ever after? I doubt, and on the beginning of the XXth century it would be even worse.
Despite all, it's lovely to watch the same kind of story we're used to watching in movies that portray society in different times, but now speaking about love between men! Although James Ivory's work is beyond criticism, in my point a view, there were some scenes in the book (the one when they are in London, sitting naked by the fire, for instance) that really should be in the movie.
But it's a tender and romantic approach of of book (only published after E.M. Foster's death) that surely would have pleased it's author.
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