Set in pre-war England, this Merchant-Ivory drama (based on the controversial E.M. Forster novel written in 1914 but not published until 1971) is about the coming of age of two young college men (Hugh Grant and James Wilby) who meet at Cambridge University and fall in love. The movie casts a critical light on the era's moral hypocrisy, as Maurice and Clive struggle to make room for their forbidden love in an intolerant society.