Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

snowyprecipice This was a bittersweet movie set in Edwardian Britain. It stars James Wilby in the title role as Maurice, who meets a very liberal and refreshing Clive (played by Hugh Grant) in college. Clive falls in love with Maurice and confesses, who first reacts with horror and then later realizes he's felt the same for a while, too. It just never really occurred to him that a man could love another man. They are in a relationship for about 2 years, when Clive gets doubts because he's afraid of the consequences if things get out, so he breaks it off.(Ugh stupid, cowardly Clive!)Maurice, rather lost and heartbroken, doesn't really know how to deal with it, especially after Clive gets himself a wife (a benign, rather sweet girl that Clive is fond of). He even tries conversion therapy, which doesn't work and leaves him feeling more hopeless. But he meets the smouldering gamekeeper Alec Scudder (played by Rupert Graves i.e. Lestrade in BBC's Sherlock), who helps him realize that he isn't wrong to feel that way about men.I cried at the end. Maurice gets a happy ending, but in the last scene, Clive looks out the window, an empty shell of who he once was, watching his memory of young Maurice (in their college days) disappearing forever. It's so sad how societal pressures and his own cowardice to face up to his true nature could force this man into the closet and a loveless marriage.And just to add, James Wilby is a true English beauty; just look at his fair hair!

Kirpianuscus to say it is beautiful is almost nonsense. because it is obvious its admirable beauty. to say it is a good adaptation is strange. because the art of Ivory is to tell the story for remind the original light. it is a courageous film. for exploration of the desire to be yourself. and for the courage to define the life in the most precise manner. not a story of a sin or portrait of society but a drawing of the birth of beauty and sense. about meetings, secrets and the air who becomes material. for the hesitation and decision. its gift - it is more than a remarkable film by Ivory. not for the theme but for the style to propose a challenge with deep roots and many answers. and only one true. it is a film of an age in a fresh manner discovered. tender, brutal, seductive. a film about the force of secrets. and about the need to assume yourself. so, courageous film. almost a challenge.

Jason Shaw  Quite simply one of the most exquisitely cinematic explorations of gay love that has ever created produced by Ismail Merchant, directed by James Ivory and adapted from the classic E. M. Forster novel, Maurice is a true masterpiece. A quintessentially English example of love between men in the early 20th century at a time when homosexuality was still illegal and persecution was everywhere. This delightfully considered and delicately fragrances tale starts with a windswept walk along the beach for an eleven-year-old Maurice Hall and his bumbling although well-meaning school master Mr Ducie, played by a darling of the British theatre scene and all round nice guy, Simon Callow. Mr Ducie tries to explain the rudimentary "sacred mysteries" of sexual intercourse with the aid of sand drawings to the fatherless young man on the very periphery of puberty. Years later, in 1909, Maurice Hall is attending Cambridge, striking up friendships with aristocratic Lord Risley and the jolly lip smacking lovely Clive Durham. Durham, played by a devilishly handsome and not yet type cast Hugh Grant who seems to fall quite madly in love with the long tall blonde Maurice Hall, and who could really blame him. He surprises Maurice by fessing up to his emotions, which take young Maurice on the hop a bit. At first, he is muddled and confused by the declaration, yet soon comes to realise and accept he has similar feelings for his friend. Maurice is sent down, leaves under a cloud from the academic hot seat of Cambridge and yet, he maintains a strong friendship with Clive Durham. Maurice, with a little help, finds work embarking on an unrewarding career as a London stockbroker. A big fat spanner is thrown well and truly into the workings of a 'happy ever after' life when our two platonic lovers get frightened as university chum Lord Risley is not only arrested, but also sentenced to six months hard labour. His crime was supposedly soliciting sex from dashing army soldier, who may well have been up for it at the time!Maurice is heartbroken he cant have Clive who is now set to marry, he seeks to rid himself of his gay feelings. Maurice and his aloof ways come to the attention of the supposedly uneducated under- gamekeeper working on Durham's country estate. How Maurice fails to notice the adorable Alec Scudder, played supremely by Rupert Graves is a mystery to all bar himself, yet the young handsome manly servant is not put off. One rainy evening a few nights later, Scudder risks everything and yet nothing by climbing a ladder and into Maurice's bedroom, they kiss and spend most of the night 'getting to know' each other.Long-term joys are not on the horizon, in just a couple of days Alec Scudder is booked on a passage to a new life in the new world. Somehow, Scudder misses the boat, confusion reigns supreme for a good long while. Maurice muddled by everything confesses all to Clive Durham who understands little and off Maurice trots to the boathouse. Oh, the rapture and the wonder then he find dear young Scudder there, waiting for him. It's bewilderingly romantic and powerfully affecting, Scudder apparently sent a telegram to Maurice, though it was never received, informing him that he'd left his family and the chance of a new life overseas to stay with Maurice and telling him to come to the boathouse. They melt into each other's arms and the effervescent glow of love surrounds them in a bubble of happiness as Scudder whispers "Now we shan't never be parted."Oh, how I wanted my own Scudder, or indeed to be someone else's Scudder when I first saw Maurice back in 1987 or 88, such was the magnificence and beauty of the story. The stunning production qualities, wonderful photography and cinematography in plump richness, exuberant colour with the finest of details all ensure this is one of the finest costume period drama ever made. Gay or otherwise! Forster wrote this mainly between 1913 and 1914, yet it was only published for the first time in 1971 a full year after his death. Forster himself was reticent about its publication mainly because of the legal and public attitudes towards homosexuality at the time. Indeed, a handwritten note on the original manuscript allegedly said "Publishable, but worth it?" He wanted it to have a happy ending, not the one made up in the film version, but perhaps one of the Scudder and Maurice years later as a pair of woodcutters, having lived a long and happy life together, although this epilogue of sorts was discarded by Forster himself. Many academic types, including those at Kings College, believe Maurice to be a substandard Forster novel, compared with A Passage to India and Howards End. They very nearly did not give permission for the film to be made, or indeed shot on location at Kings. Thankfully, they relented, and the world could enjoy a cinematic masterpiece, filmed in part, where Forster himself would have walked during his days at Cambridge. James Wilby and Hugh Grant excel as Maurice and Clive; indeed many still believe this to be Grant's career best performance. Rupert Graves is magnificent as the beautiful Alec Scudder. In addition, there is a potent supporting cast including Denholm Elliott, Simon Callow, Billie Whitelaw and Ben Kingsley.This movie had a profound impact on my early teenage years, not only igniting a love of literature but also in my acceptance of sexuality, profoundly moving, entertaining and liberating. There are parts now, even after all these years, still make me swoon and moisten my eyes.Read more and find out where this film made it in the Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time book, search on Amazon for Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time, or visit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007FU7HPO

tangochan85 This was a wonderfully put together movie. The actors were good, the writing and pacing was also well done. I also liked that the love story was presented as any other love story. I've seen movies, like for example Brokeback Mountain, where the homosexuality becomes a crutch and the movie expects you to like it solely based on that merit alone. Maurice, however, took the subject of homosexuality and used it to its advantage as a tool instead of a crutch. It used the sexuality of the characters to create more dramatic tension. It was a nice treatment. One quibble I had with the movie though was that the kissing scenes were rather more like face rolling scenes, very kind of funny when they probably should not have been. I have seen these types of kissing scenes between two men done much better in other films, but at the same time this film is dated 1987, so that might be part of it since kissing styles evolve each decade in movies. I'm glad that I took the time to watch this movie. It was a good story and gave me things to think about, which is something I enjoy about good movies.