After his return from a trip to Greece, Clive, under pressure from his widowed mother, marries a naive rich girl named Anne and settles into a life of rural domesticity. Clive, afraid of being exposed as a homosexual, breaks with Maurice. The two friends keep their feelings secret but are frightened when Lord Risley is arrested and sentenced to six months' hard labour after soliciting sex from a soldier.

Their close relationship continues after Maurice is expelled from Cambridge and begins a new career as a stockbroker in London. Clive, a member of the upper class, has a promising future ahead of him and does not want to risk losing his social position.

To go further, in Clive's opinion, would diminish them both. The two friends embark on a passionate love affair but, at Clive's insistence, their relationship remains non-sexual. At first, Maurice reacts with horror, but he soon realizes that he reciprocates Clive's feelings. Clive falls in love with his friend and surprises Maurice by confessing his feelings. Years later, in 1909, Maurice is attending Cambridge, where he strikes up a friendship with two fellow students: the aristocratic Viscount Risley and the rich and handsome Clive Durham. The story follows its main character, Maurice Hall, through university, a tumultuous relationship, struggling to fit into society, and ultimately being united with his life partner.ĭuring a trip to a windswept beach, Maurice Hall, an 11-year-old schoolboy, receives instructions about the 'sacred mysteries' of sex from his teacher, who wants to explain to the fatherless boy the changes he would experience in puberty. It is a tale of gay love in the restrictive and repressed culture of Edwardian England. The film was produced by Ismail Merchant via Merchant Ivory Productions and Film Four International, and written by Ivory and Kit Hesketh-Harvey, with cinematography by Pierre Lhomme. The supporting cast includes Denholm Elliott as Dr Barry, Simon Callow as Mr Ducie, Billie Whitelaw as Mrs Hall, and Ben Kingsley as Lasker-Jones. The film stars James Wilby as Maurice, Hugh Grant as Clive and Rupert Graves as Alec. Maurice is a 1987 British romantic drama film directed by James Ivory, based on the 1971 novel Maurice by E.

Maurice by E.M. Forster