Love finds a way

Nowadays, homosexual characters are much more accepted and prevalent in mainstream films. But it wasn't that long ago that this wasn't the case. One film that wasn't afraid to depict a gay love story, at a time when gays were more criticized, scrutizined, parodied, caricatured and marginalized (1987), is "Maurice," a lesser-known Merchant/Ivory gem that portrays how difficult it was to hide and maintain a homosexual relationship in Britain's repressive pre-World-War I era. CineVerse had much to talk about last night, including the following:

WHAT DID YOU FIND INTERESTING OR UNEXPECTED ABOUT THIS FILM? 

• Its long runtime. It supposedly stays faithful to the source material novel by E.M. Forster, but cinematically this could be a long sit and a slow burn for many viewers. 
• Its happy ending. According to the director James Ivory: “The thing that marks Maurice as a gay film is that its story has a happy ending. Forster always wanted that. He wrote about it and said that. Most gay stories, at least back then, ended with some very bad thing. In that way, it was maybe ahead of its time.” 
• The timing of its release—1987. A homosexual love story wasn’t as widely accepted or tolerated by moviegoers at this time. Consider that the world was still grappling with the growing AIDS crisis, and many gays were being blamed, shamed or castigated because of it. 
• Its impressive cast, including Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, Ben Kingsley, Simon Callow, Denholm Elliott, and James Wilby. 
• The debatable message of the film. Per Roger Ebert, who gave the movie a positive review: “By arguing that (Maurice and Scudder’s) decision to stay together was a good and courageous thing, ‘Maurice’ seems to argue that the most important thing about them was their homosexuality. Perhaps in the dangerous atmosphere of homophobia in the England of 75 years ago, that might have seemed the case. But this film has been made in 1987 and shares the same limited insight.” 
• The movie surprisingly features full-frontal male nudity, which could have been more controversial in 1987. 

WHAT THEMES STAND OUT IN MAURICE?

• Love vs. lust—physical attraction contrasted with deep emotional affection 
• Love conquers all 
• Betrayal 
• Secrets 
• Class differences 
• The classic love triangle 
• The challenge of trying to live a lie and not be true to yourself 

FILMS OR WORKS OF LITERATURE THAT REMIND US OF MAURICE

• Brokeback Mountain 
• Howards End 
• A Room With a View 
• Beautiful Thing 
• Parting Glances 
• Shelter 
• My Beautiful Laundrette 
• Sunday Bloody Sunday 

OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY JAMES IVORY

• A Room With a View 
• Mr. and Mrs. Bridge 
• Howards End 
• The Remains of the Day 
• The White Countess 
• Call Me By Your Name