After his lover rejects him, a young man trapped by the oppressiveness of Edwardian society tries to come to terms with and accept his sexuality.After his lover rejects him, a young man trapped by the oppressiveness of Edwardian society tries to come to terms with and accept his sexuality.After his lover rejects him, a young man trapped by the oppressiveness of Edwardian society tries to come to terms with and accept his sexuality.
- Director
- Writers
- E.M. Forster(from the novel by)
- Kit Hesketh-Harvey(screenplay)
- James Ivory(screenplay)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- E.M. Forster(from the novel by)
- Kit Hesketh-Harvey(screenplay)
- James Ivory(screenplay)
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 4 wins & 3 nominations total
Videos1
- Director
- Writers
- E.M. Forster(from the novel by)
- Kit Hesketh-Harvey(screenplay)
- James Ivory(screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Two male English school chums find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. To regain his place in society, Clive gives up his forbidden love, Maurice (pronounced "Morris") and marries. While staying with Clive and his shallow wife, Anne, Maurice finally discovers romance in the arms of Alec, the gamekeeper. Written from personal pain, it's E.M. Forster's story of coming to terms with sexuality in the Edwardian age. —Susan Southall <stobchatay@aol.com>
- Genres
- Certificate
- R
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaIn the DVD extras, Hugh Grant says that because he and James Wilby already knew each other from appearing in Privileged (1982) together, they were able to practice their scenes together at Grant's house the night before Wilby's audition. Grant says that he remembers it "being a surprise to my banker brother when he came home and found me kissing James Wilby in the front room."
- GoofsDuring one of the earlier scenes while Maurice and others are reading/translating with a professor/dean, Maurice is seen clearly wearing a wristwatch. While wristwatches did exist at the time they were rare, and were considered working class so would not have been worn by a gentleman. The wristwatch would not become common until the first world war, when they were given to soldiers to allow them to see the time while both hands were engaged.
- Quotes
Maurice Hall: I'm an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort.
- Alternate versionsSome NTSC versions are scanned at 25fps and the running time is short and seems edited but the movie is intact.
- SoundtracksMiserere Psalm 51
Written by Gregorio Allegri
Sung by The Choir of Kings College Cambridge
Courtesy of The Decca Record Company LTD.
Top review
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.
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.
helpful•297
- Doylenf
- May 8, 2001
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- 墨利斯的情人
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £1,577,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,484,230
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $49,278
- Sep 20, 1987
- Gross worldwide
- $2,642,567
- Runtime2 hours 20 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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