Fun fact: Homosexuality has actually been prevalent in human history since the Greeks and maybe even further back, case in point Achilles and Patroclus. (Side note: there’s actually a retelling of this myth called The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller which is a MUST-READ!!!)
So, if gramma tries to use the “IT’S JUST A TREND” card, you can hit her with the uno reverse “BUT THE GREEKS WERE FUCKING AND THEY DIDN’T HAVE I-PHONES!” This has been a public service announcement by Hat, thank you for listening.
Now, I have yet to read the actual novel of “Maurice” by E. M. Forster but I had the film on my radar for a while. Though because of its grainy quality, I wasn’t exactly invested for the first 30 minutes of the film so I kind of bailed on it.
However, the gods must have heard my pleas because they released a HD remaster of the 1987 film adaptation of “Maurice” titled under the same name. It’s actually available on YouTube at the time of writing this so you might be able to watch it there. Note that it’s roughly 3 hours long so get comfy before starting the viewing.
Anyways, it’s time for my review so be warned, spoilers ahoy!
< PLOT SUMMARY >
In 19th century England, Maurice Hall is the sole son of a well-to-do family and ends up meeting Clive Durham during his university days. They quickly form a close friendship that eventually escalates to a romantic one.
However, because this is 19th century England, the laws are strict on homosexuals. One of Maurice’s schoolmates is found guilty of attempting sexual advances on a soldier and is arrested. After attending his trial, Clive is forced to see the reality of being gay in their society and decides to break off his relationship with Maurice.
Though heartbroken, Maurice remains in close contact with his ex-beau and eventually, sees him off at his marriage with a woman. He struggles to seek therapy to “cure” his homosexuality but ultimately fails when he meets Clive’s gamekeeper, Alec Scudder.
After sleeping together, Maurice is forced to make a decision to either give up all pretense of a “normal” heterosexual life or stay with Alec as his lover. In the end, he decides to find Clive and admit that he had chosen Alec and makes a promise with Alec that they’ll be forever together.
< REVIEW >
Ya’ll know I’m a sucker for Victorian aesthetics so this movie was right up my alley. In fact, I was watching Tom Brown’s School days (another Victorian film) before watching this one. The film really captures the essence of the uptight and formal nature of 19th century England. It’s also one of the granddaddy’s of gay media, paving the way for acceptance so kudos to the studio and director for green lighting this.
I actually sympathized with all the characters which was honestly a pleasant surprise for me. I find that most “gay-romance” films tend to follow a structure of “Realises is gay–)Homophobia–)Tries to be straight–)fails tremendously–)loves themselves and gets a cute love interest–)profit??”. There is nothing wrong with following this structure but it usually results in a lot of angst and just plain cliched homophobia, usually in a straight character.
However, I find that with Maurice, I can understand why Clive chose to marry a woman and feel his internal struggle at convincing himself that he is “happy”. Also, Risley, the outed homosexual, I felt nothing but sympathy for him though he wasn’t exactly being subtle about his advances. It was still painful to see him being subjected to charges and humiliation just for liking a man. I mean, it isn’t that far off from the modern day where homosexuality is still considered a “sin” (Bollocks, I say) which makes his whole situation sadder.
A lot of people have compared this film to Call Me By Your Name which is fair considering the choice of topic and coming-of-age genre of the books. Personally, I do adore CMBYN with all my heart but there’s something special about Maurice. I don’t think you can really compare the two films when the focus and story line is vastly different. While CMBYN focuses on a summer’s fling and a singular love, Maurice deals more with the societal expectations of heterosexuality in men and the ramifications of not “fitting the mold”.
Though, I have to admit that there are certain similarities. For example, the grass caresses is pretty identical to the Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer kiss scene. I don’t doubt that there was inspiration taken from this film. Hell, the actors of Hugh Grant and James Wilby are also blonde and brunette.
I think this is one of the few films I’ve seen that do a double whammy and introduce the second love interest, about an hour into the film. It was interesting to me and I believe, more realistic. Not every person has a “one true love”, sometimes it takes many tries to find Mr. Right and I think that’s a lovely message. Clive and Maurice were wonderful together and it was painful to see them part but it was inevitable. Also, the way the film drops obvious hints about Clive’s regret, I think it was beautifully executed. It was subtle without being in your face (*AHEM* Show not tell).
I think my heart broke into fragments at the hand kissing scene. It was just the pièce de résistance that sealed the longing Clive had for Maurice. Especially after, the hair patting scene at the beginning of the movie, it really clinched in the yearning for physical affection from Clive to Maurice. It ain’t just homies being bro-mies if you’re demanding a hand-kiss while your wife is sleeping in the next room over. Even Maurice questioned Clive’s intentions for doing so.
My main critique would be Alec’s sudden infatuation for Maurice. I mean, I couldn’t really understand why homeboy suddenly felt the urge to Edward-Cullen through his window and have sex with Maurice. It wasn’t explicitly shown why Alec fell for Maurice, in fact, their romantic development was rather abrupt. It just seemed extremely convenient that the gay lord happened to have a gay gamekeeper who fell for the ex. But I can’t really comment too much on this too much because the book was based off real people, or least some parts were. So, maybe yelling out of your window in a thunderstorm brings all the boys to your yard?
In all honestly, I felt that the ending was rushed. There was really no clean resolution and if I had to be brutally honest, it felt unsatisfying. A reason for that was probably the lack of screen time on Alec and Maurice’s relationship. While we get a full hour showing Maurice and Clive’s interactions, their playfulness and affection for each other, we only get one and a half sex scene for Alec. Maybe that’s the intention of the author, to show that sometimes, you can’t be choosy when you’re gay in 19th century England but it just feels unresolved. The film would improve greatly if we had more emotional development between Alec and Maurice.
Oh and thank you film for suddenly overwhelming my eyes with penises. I guess I should have expected it with this being a gay-romance film but, I got used to the 20th century censorship. Speaking of that, let’s just side track and talk about censorship and gay films.
I have to applaud the director for choosing to adapt this obviously controversial (for its time) book. It was directed by James Ivory who also the film adaptation of “A room with a view” which is another of E. M. Forster’s works. There is still obvious prejudice about LGBT themes, let’s face it, this may not be the medieval ages but discrimination still exists. (*AHEM Love, Simon being a PG-13 film despite it being as tame as a Disney film).
Of course, there is media focusing on LGBT themes such as Skam, Moonlight, CMBYN, but let’s face it, this is a mere drip in the puddle of heterosexual films. I know that this year has been utter hell, especially with the corona quarantine and BLM (which is really important and people should stop being racist bigots because we’re all humans who bleed red blood) but this is especially why we should start paying more attention to LGBT matters.
I’ve dealt with my fair share of ignorance, from people who claim that being gay is unnatural to it being the result of lust, to it being immoral. I’ve heard it all and I’m disappointed. What happened to love thy neighbour? Judas kissed Jesus, does that make him gay? Honestly, it’s 2020, what does it matter if people just want to marry someone of the same-sex? In a world where everyone is bitter, hateful and depressed, shouldn’t we encourage someone to seek their happiness than berate and belittle them?
MisHATventures 