E. M. Forster's novel, "Maurice," is given a first-rate screen adaptation by this British production. James Ivory's direction is very cinematic, conveying the multi-layered story through a series of dramatic scenes, with just a bit of over-voice narration. Its impact comes through an incremental effect, reaching moving proportions by the end of the lengthy presentation. James Wilby, Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves and Helena Bonham Carter are all excellent, heading a superior cast. Every aspect of the production has been carefully prepared and executed.

What emerges for me is the tragedy of societal constraint, under the guise of virtue. It is a tightrope to walk for the free-wheeling, independent thinker in this society: he who steps outside the bounds of regularity is subject to scorn and persecution. That the drama's heros do not fall into the mode of so-called "normalcy" leave them open to a lifestyle of tension and risk. Forster beautifully conveys this in the novel, and Ivory transfers it to the screen with great skill.

Certainly "Maurice" is one of the top motion pictures of the 80s. Kudos to all who took part in bringing this poignant novel to the screen.

I love the films of Merchant Ivory, especially The Remains of the Day, and Maurice is no exception. It is not my favourite of theirs, there are one or two occasional dull spots for me, but I cannot deny that Maurice(adapted from EM Forster's autobiographical novel) is beautiful. As always, the production values are truly immaculate with the cinematography skillful and the scenery and, costumes and interiors/exteriors gorgeous. The music is also hypnotic and of real beauty, the film is lovingly directed, the script is superbly written and the story is compelling and resonates emotionally with me. Also I think Maurice deals with the theme of homosexuals very well. The acting is excellent, James Wilby especially is very powerful, but I shouldn't dismiss Simon Callow, Patrick Godfrey, Judy Parfitt, Hugh Grant and Rupert Graves either, they are all wonderful. So overall, Maurice is a beautiful film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

E.M. Forster (1879-1970) as a gay man lived long enough to see the Stonewall Rebellion happen across the pond the year before his death at the age of 91. Though close friends knew he was gay, as prescribed by the mores of the times, Forster led a quiet, discreet, and circumspect life. He was not a political person, first and foremost he was a novelist, though in his writings you can some trenchant comments about the political, never more so in his A Passage To India.

My guess is that if Stonewall didn't happen here and other developments such as the Wolfenden report recommending decriminalization of homosexuality in the United Kingdom hadn't happened, Maurice might never have seen the light of day. My guess is that Forster would have opted for a time capsule, hoping this novel of young same sex love would see the light of day in more enlightened times. He got to see those enlightened times come before he died, so Forster's novel Maurice was published in 1971 and came to the screen in 1987.

Forster's protagonist is Maurice Hall a young man with some unwanted gay feelings, unwanted because at the time those things were not discussed. Young Maurice forms an attachment with school chum Clive Durham. To put it in more modern terms they're the British boarding school equivalent of Ennis Delmar and Jack Twist.

And they view their relationship differently as did Jack and Ennis. Maurice truly hates the stifling conformity of Edwardian Great Britain, but Clive wants to put it behind him, get married and do as proper British society demands of him.

James Wilby is Maurice and Hugh Grant in one of his earliest roles is the shallow Clive. Maurice takes a path that E.M. Forster took in life as a gay man, as open as he could be, but most discreet.

I do wonder who the Clive character was based on. I also wonder if in the future, the proper Mr. Clive might have been giving the toe tapping signal in some bathroom stall looking to satisfy his real and closeted lusts.

There is also a great performance by Rupert Graves as Alec Scudder the stable-hand at Clive's estate who Maurice eventually does establish a relationship and some measure of happiness. It will be a tough road for them, not very many places on the earth will be that hospitable in the years just before World War I.

Maurice was written around 1910, a decade or so after the Oscar Wilde scandal and six years before Roger Casement's diaries were opened to the public to justify hanging him as a traitor in the Easter Rebellion. The gay baiting there was a deliberate tactic by the British government to shake popular support away from the rebels in Ireland. These were not good times for Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered people.

E.M. Forster wrote the novel and tucked it away. It's a beautiful work and a beautiful film made from same. I'm glad in the final couple of years of life, Forster saw the more enlightened times come so we could have a glimpse of what life was like for a young gay male in Edwardian Great Britain.