Maurice

A poignant attack on the stifling conformity and repression of English society on the eve of World War I, this adaptation of E.M. Forster’s Maurice is a haunting story of coming to terms with one’s sexuality in the face of disapproval and rejection. Maurice Hall (James Wilby) and Clive Durham (Hugh Grant) find themselves falling in love at Cambridge.

In a time when homosexuality is a criminal offense, the two keep their feelings for one another a secret. After a friend is arrested and disgraced for “the unspeakable vice of the Greeks,” Clive abandons his forbidden love and marries. Maurice is left to struggle with his identity, seeking the help of a hypnotist (Ben Kingsley) to rid himself of his undeniable desires. But while staying with Clive and his well-meaning wife Anne (Phoebe Nichols of Brideshead Revisited), Maurice is seduced by the ardent and yearning gameskeeper Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves) — an event that brings about profound changes in Maurice’s life and outlook.

Nominated — 1988 Academy Awards: Best Costume Design

Winner — 1987 Venice Film Festival: Silver Lion, Best Actor, Best Score

Nominated — 1987 Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion

UK | English | 1987 | 140 mins | 4K Restored