How does Maurice compare to BBM? It seems to have the same theme.
But then again Constant Gardener & Sahara had the same theme and we can agree those movies are nothing alike.
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BBM always reminded me 'Maurice' to some extent. (I saw 'Maurice' years before BBM). The story in both movies contains the same basic elements:
- In an over-repressed society a two men fall in love with the "wrong" person.
- One of them is more open to the relationship, the other one more reserved.
- Eventually one of them get married with a woman he doesn't love (In the case of BBM both of them get married).
- However they keep loving each other secretly.
But here ends the coincidences, the differences are substantial:
1- in 'Maurice' the relationship of the main characters is mere platonic. There is no sex involved.
2- Maurice never gets married.
3- Maurice finds in a working class boy a new lover, therefore forgets his relationship with Clive (Hugh Grant).
4- 'Maurice' does have a happy ending while BBM is basically a tragedy.
Similar movies about characters who faces similar obstacles just because people like them are not accepted by the ultra-conservative society where they happen to live. However the outcome of the story couldn't be more different.
Definitively If you liked BBM, chances are that you are gonna enjoy 'Maurice' as well.
Excuse me, why do you think that Maurice and Clive are not sexually involved? Isn't that the whole point?
"I am always happy to engage in POLITE discourse."
De gustibus non est disputandum.
I didn't like BBM (can't stand gay films with sad endings), but I loved Maurice, so if you haven't seen it yet, watch it now! It's very satisfying, not like BBM which is completely overrated.
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Very different films.
Its that man again!!
It's Brokeback for me. I couldn't understand a lot of what was said in Maurice (That English accent)AND the characters didn't evoke as much pathos for me as did those in Brokeback.
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He lifts me clear to the sky, you know he taught me to fly.
"I couldn't understand..." What a peculiar comment. Your profile doesn't make clear whether English is your first language; but from the subtext, I'm going to assume you are American.
1) Apart from Alec, all the key characters in Maurice speak 'received pronounciation'/upper-class English. And I see from your other board comments that you were able to watch and enjoy The King's Speech - which uses far more exaggerated 'cut-glass' period accents than Maurice does. So it's not clear what your problem was - but your comment implies that you think every film in the world should be made in (or dubbed into) US English. WTF?
2) Both main DVD editions of Maurice (The Merchant Ivory Collection/US, and Film Four/UK) come with an English subtitles option, if required. The full script of Maurice is also available, free, online.
3) You need only look at the range of comments on the Maurice YouTube boards to see that many non-English-as-a-first-language fans worldwide love this film - so it would seem it is not *so* inaccessible! To give just one example, Maurice has a passionate Russian-speaking fan community who are able to understand the film well enough to post quite sophisticated discussions/analyses of its nuances that put much English-language discussion to shame.
6) 'The characters didn't evoke as much pathos for me': because two of the three protagonists find 'for ever and ever' happiness? Well, yes - Maurice was/is the first love story with a happy ending, and remains a rare one. There's no shortage of angsty/tragic/gay-death narratives, if that's what you prefer (but then why post on this particular board?)
1) The DVD I rented of the Kings Speech had subtitles.
2) There were no subtitles on the DVD I rented of Maurice.
6) Maybe I got the word wrong, The guys in Brokeback Mountain made me care what happened to them. Empathy! There you have it, that's the word
It's only my opinion Pal; don't attack it.
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He lifts me clear to the sky, you know he taught me to fly.
When Maurice broke down after Clive unceremoniously rejected him (even after Maurice tells him that Clive is the one thing that makes him happy), you didn't feel empathy for him?
Or when Maurice broke down when under hypnosis by Lasker-Jones?
During the boathouse scene, you felt no empathy for two guys who had risked everything to be with each other?
... Or when Maurice, utterly alone following his rejection by Clive, has to congratulate his sister Ada on her marriage and speaks some of the saddest words in the film: "For two people in love to marry strikes me as very jolly"?
... Or at the hotel when Alec says sadly: "Pity we ever met, really, if you think about it", then leaves to prepare for his emigration – leaving Maurice to cry alone, believing he will never see Alec again, nor ever meet anyone else who will love him?
The "Pity we ever met, really..." line was the most gut-wrenching line in the movie, in my opinion! I'm sure Alec didn't really mean it, and it was just his way of putting a brave face on the situation.
In the book after Alec leaves, Maurice totally breaks down, as you'd imagine he would, then resigns himself to going about his life as usual, and thinking he'll never be happy again. The movie just showed Maurice gazing dejectedly at the door, and then the scene ends, but I can imagine he would have definitely broken down after Alec left.
Of course, we don't see what goes on in Alec's mind between the time he leaves the hotel, and the time Maurice finds him at the boathouse. But I can imagine his mind was in a turmoil about the major life decision he was facing, and he did a lot of soul searching leading up to the happy ending.
Anyway, to answer the original poster's question, both movies stayed with me for a long time after first viewing, but in totally different ways. Brokeback was of course totally devastating, given how it ends, but even so, it didn't haunt me the way Maurice did. Maurice stayed with me for weeks and weeks, but in a totally "I'm in love with this movie and can't stop thinking about it, due to the amazing acting, the gorgeous scenery, the three beautiful male leads, and the happy ending" way.
Did you feel so bad for Maurice you wished you worked on the film so you were able to approach him and commiserate with the guy all the time hoping the actor playing him didn't call security to get this crazy nut off the set??
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He lifts me clear to the sky, you know he taught me to fly.
I loved BBM quite a lot but I still think Maurice is the better film for many reasons. For one thing, Ang Lee tends to focus almost as much on the landscape and colors as on the relationships (see "Sense and Sensibility" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon").
Maurice focuses on these too but the relationships are much "closer" to the viewer and more nuanced, as are most of them in Merchant-Ivory films.
There's also the time difference, though one could say that being gay couple in the American West in the 1960's was just as forbidden (and much more dangerous!) than in Edwardian England!
At the risk of making a bad joke, you could decide which irrelevant scene you dislike less, the rodeo in BBM or the cricket match in Maurice! I choose the cricket match due to the meaningful looks and the reaction of the crowd to the relationship they suspect is there. And nobody EVER looked as good in that silly outfit as Rupert Graves does!
The love/sex scenes: The ones in both movies seemed realistic to me (but since I'm not a gay man, I'm guessing). But take the main, first encounter between Jack and Ennis in the tent (very tense, brief and sad), vs. Maurice and Alec in the brass bed--Maurice pinning him when he tries to get up--the laughter! That was priceless and gorgeous! I vote for that scene.
I'll always love BBM and watch it, but will always feel 100x better after watching Maurice. The ending alone was daring and gives one hope for humanity.
And it has Rupert Graves!
She deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die.
I loved BBM quite a lot but I still think Maurice is the better film for many reasons. For one thing, Ang Lee tends to focus almost as much on the landscape and colors as on the relationships (see "Sense and Sensibility" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon").
Maurice focuses on these too but the relationships are much "closer" to the viewer and more nuanced, as are most of them in Merchant-Ivory films.
There's also the time difference, though one could say that being gay couple in the American West in the 1960's was just as forbidden (and much more dangerous!) than in Edwardian England!
At the risk of making a bad joke, you could decide which irrelevant scene you dislike less, the rodeo in BBM or the cricket match in Maurice! I choose the cricket match due to the meaningful looks and the reaction of the crowd to the relationship they suspect is there. And nobody EVER looked as good in that silly outfit as Rupert Graves does!
The love/sex scenes: The ones in both movies seemed realistic to me (but since I'm not a gay man, I'm guessing). But take the main, first encounter between Jack and Ennis in the tent (very tense, brief and sad), vs. Maurice and Alec in the brass bed--Maurice pinning him when he tries to get up--the laughter! That was priceless and gorgeous! I vote for that scene.
I'll always love BBM and watch it, but will always feel 100x better after watching Maurice. The ending alone was daring and gives one hope for humanity.
And it has Rupert Graves!
She deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die.