Maurice (pronounced Morris) is a 1987 British film based on the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster. It is a tale of homosexual love in early 20th century England, following its main character Maurice Hall from his school days through university until he is united with his life partner. If you are homophobic, this is not a movie for you.
It was produced by Ismail Merchant via Merchant Ivory Productions and Channel Four Films. It was directed by James Ivory and written by Ivory and Kit Hesketh-Harvey. The cinematography was by Pierre Lhomme. In the style of Merchant Ivory's A Room with a View, old book endpapers accompany the theme music played in minor scale at the beginning and in major scale at the end to bracket the film as a cinematographic novel.
The film stars James Wilby as Maurice, Hugh Grant as Clive and Rupert Graves as Alec. The supporting cast included Denholm Elliott as Dr Barry, Simon Callow as Mr Ducie, Billie Whitelaw as Mrs Hall and Ben Kingsley as Lasker-Jones.
The film received universal acclaim from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 90% of critics gave the film a positive review. Ken Hanke from Mountain Xpress said it was probably Merchant-Ivory's best film.
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1987, where Ivory was awarded a Silver Lion as Best Director, sharing the prize with Ermanno Olmi. James Wilby and Hugh Grant were jointly awarded Best Actor, and Richard Robbins received the prize for his music. The film received favourable reviews when it opened in New York City. Maurice received an Academy Award nomination in the Best Costume Design category.
No comments:
Post a Comment