This charming little Edwardian studio portrait reminds me so very much of Alec Scudder and Maurice Hall! (As portrayed by Rupert Graves and James Wilby - if you have not yet seen Maurice, I urge you do watch it; you are in for an absolute treat!)
Ok so this is an old movie set in the old times, which may make it sound very boring, BUT I was actually not bored??? when I watched it like 3 years ago it was in 360p and sound quality was terrible but I STILL persevered because I was so invested in the lives of these pre ww1 gays. Hugh grants HAIRRR❤ hugh grants moustache . It has a HAPPY ENDING!!! This is a pretty incoherent review but just understand that it is incredibly gay and british and old and really good. brb I think I’m gonna go rewatch this now. 9/10
re-reading maurice and noticing much more deeply how big of a role the theme of nature/transcedentalism plays in the story, how the decay of penge parallels the decay of clive’s love and his relationship with maurice, how clive represents civilization and alec represents nature, how nature is seen as the ultimate good and something to aspire to whereas the conformity inherent to society tarnishes the goodness of humans, how the book was influenced by edward carpenter/george merrill/walt whitman who all advocated these ideas and the love for nature above all else, how the main struggle of the story can not only be described as a struggle between repression/conformity VS pride in one’s sexuality but also a struggle between society VS nature, how clive represents the fear of nature and alec represents the love of nature, how clive is associated with ruins and how that foreshadows the downfall of his and maurice’s relationship because ultimately he chose to go to greece which partly represents an ideal but repressed civilization (although greece was/is also associated with homosexuality, the greek philosophers still believed it should be platonic only, as clive parrots), how clive metaphorically chooses the “old world” over the “new world” whereas maurice said he would have chosen to visit the new world, etc.
Edit: I have since learned that apparently Handsome Devil IS about friendship and I’ve taken it off. When I found this, I just knew it was queer but I’ve actually never watched it :/
unstoppable force (gay people) vs immovable object (“run away with me” but it never actually happens trope)
I’ve actually seen some success gay run-away -with-me stories in period shows/lit!!
Maurice by E. M. Forster (+ the 1987 movie, dir. James Ivory) - Maurice Hall & Alec Scudder
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (+ the 2018 miniseries adaptation*) - Mike Fitzhubert and Albert Crundall; also Miranda Reid, Marion Quade, and Greta McCraw**
*I gotta be honest, I haven’t read the book or watched the 1975 movie adaptation but I’m under the impression that the 2018 miniseries brought the ever-present subtext between Mike & Albert closest to explicit text of the three. It’s obviously clear that they’re interpreted as gay in the series, even if they don’t say it, but the miniseries does explicitly focus on the canon queerness of the 3 girls who are the main characters.
**These three plus Irma Leopold all disappear at the Hanging Rock in search of freedom, especially freedom from the constraints of heteronormative society. While the mystery of where they disappeared to is never officially solved, a deleted chapter of the book suggests that the girls escaped through a hole in the fabric of space-time and into freedom. However, Irma is ultimately spurned by the Rock because she is not fully willing to give up society (representing historical queer people who followed compulsory heterosexuality for safety and status); her body is found and she manages to live a comfortable upper-class, if unhappy, life afterwards. Meanwhile, the aromantic/sapphic-coded Miranda and lovers Marion and Miss McCraw successfully escape and find freedom at the Rock. :)
Sorry, those qualifications got long! But they’re good, (mostly) happy examples of queer rep where the gays get to run away together :))
“I was yours once ‘till death if you’d cared to keep me, but I’m someone else’s now - I can’t hang about whining forever - and he’s mine in a way that shocks you, but why don’t you stop being shocked, and attend to your own happiness?”
I’m quite proud of this early inktober, to be able to make a full illustration everyday, having predefined themes for everyday surely makes a huge difference
Also made it a bit like Lady D’s iconic pose, hope it resembles ^^
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Films in Frame - My own private Idaho, Maurice, Call me by your name, Moonlight, Brokeback Mountain, Kill your Darlings, Another country, Dorian Gray, I killed my mother, Happy Together
can anyone PLEASE introduce me to more books like “the secret history”, “If we were villains”, “the goldfinch”, “Dead poets society”, “the picture of Dorian gray” and “song of Achilles”??
“Scudder was fielding now, looking reckless and graceful. He was close to them, and stamped one foot, as though summoning something. That was the final vision, and whether of a devil or a comrade Maurice had no idea.”
Alec being kissed and lifted off the ground mid-kiss, his arm wrapped around Maurice.
So many scenes in gorgeous film I had to go back and view again (and again and again)
I remember reading from James Wilby that this scene was actually filmed on only day three or four , so they didn’t really even know each other!
They had dinner at a restaurant and spoke on everything but that scene.. James asked “do you think we should just go for it?” And, in Rupert’s typical, wonderful fashion, he just said “yup” and they did it.. James’ actual quote was along the lines of “he stuck his tongue down my throat, and that was the end of that!”
(Rupert also caused the bed to break in the other scene… Good Lord..)
Maurice as a book will always be my favourite and the film was bloody fantastic too! The cast were gorgeously chosen and suited the characters perfectly. Forster would have been so proud.. I even have a tattoo of Forster himself I just love it all
(And this kissing scene at the end makes me cry so much because we didn’t get that in the book, but it was so beautiful I’ve never been more happy that they strayed from the novel )
For those who’ve not heard the anecdotes about the kiss or the bed…
James and Rupert have both mentioned the decision to “go for it” in various interviews over the year. Still no consensus on who actually said it though!
