A beautiful scene from Maurice (1987)

For the past few days, I’ve been reading Maurice by E.M. Forster. I’ve read it before, but it’s been about twenty-five years. I’ve seen the film quite a few times, probably more than 20, but it’s been about 15 years since I’ve seen it. Reading the book made me want to watch the film again, so I looked it up on YouTube earlier. I think the film beautiful compliments the novel.

Twenty minutes in, you’ll find the scene where Maurice and Clive cross a line and express a kind of affection for one another usually reserved for lovers. The boys have just come back from a vacation to start a new term at Cambridge. They’ve not seen one another for a few weeks. They’re in Maurice’s rooms. Clive is in the floor in front of Maurice. It’s a quiet moment, and the boys talk to one another in hushed tones about how they got on at home. Clive leans back against Maurice’s leg, turns his head and softly rubs his cheek against Maurice’s knee. Maurice tentatively reaches up and begins stroking Clive’s hair above his ear. All the while, a boys’ choir is singing beautifully and eventually reaching impossibly high notes. You can feel the erotic tension, the passion, the longing and the intense fear. This is something they’ve both wanted long before they even met, but they dared not admit it.

At 22, I had never seen anything like this before. It was a validation of my feelings, of course, but it was also an incredibly persuasive demonstration that love between men could be profoundly beautiful. I’ll always be grateful for the director James Ivory along with his creative partner, the actors and everyone involved in making the film. And I’ll always be grateful for E.M. Forster who dared write his novel in 1917.