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Paper Mask has got to be one of my most favourite films. The concept is so original and gripping. Paul McGann is fantastic as Porter-cum-Doctor Matthew Harris/Simon Hennessey. Although now nearly ten years old, this film is still brilliant to watch, and keeps you guessing right until the end.

A nifty little psychological thriller about a fake doctor in an English hospital. His first night on the emergency room is a tautly paced piece of film-making as he knows nothing about how to help accident victims, one who has a nasty looking cut on his hand and who the "doctor" ignorantly and with frightening incompetence, grabs the wrong way. It's wincing to watch. The movie doesn't take too much advantage of the most obvious situation, but delves into the hospital culture and relations among doctors, as well his relationship with a nurse. It's the girls all along that he really wanted, and being a doctor was a sure ticket to a more lively sex life. He was an orderly before, working in a hospital laundry room, and though quite intelligent (maybe he could have actually become a doctor the old-fashioned way), has a mean and devious streak in him, that one senior physician detects right off, but that eludes others. The movie could have gone for more shock value with his encounters with patients, but instead develops his weird character living a double life.

After a doctor is killed in an accident, an orderly (Paul McGann) assumes his identity, taking his place as a hospital's new Casualty Officer. The plan soon goes pear-shaped resulting in disaster and death.

PAPER MASK is a well-made, British medical drama / psychological thriller. Part of the fun is wondering how long the orderly-turned-doctor can get away with his ruse. As his life gets more complicated, it becomes clear that it won't be long before it all crashes down on him.

Amanda Donohoe is Christine, a very helpful nurse, and Tom Wilkinson is the ultra-demanding Doctor Thorn...

Paul McGann and Amanda Donohoe give convincing performances as respectively, hospital porter Matthew Harris who steps into the shoes of a recently qualified medical student, now deceased, and the nurse whom is gradually drawn into the deceit in this gripping story that can't fail to leave you with a slight sense of unease about the medical profession. He gets away with a disastrous first day in A&E partially because it had not been unknown for previous students with the right qualifications to panic in that way. Later when responsible for the death of a patient and being absolved by the medical establishment, he's surrounded by back-slapping junior colleagues - we've all done it mate - sort of thing. Even the sceptical Dr Thorn (Tom Wilkinson) whom has sensed that Harris is a hollow man from the start, finally keeps his thoughts to himself rather than rock the boat. Toward the end the story relies a little on coincidence, and ignores altogether how Harris could have got away with his deception with the tax authorities for instance, but these are minor quibbles. Paper Mask is a film deserving a much higher profile.

Paul McGann is Matthew Harris, who after a car accident, is able to fool everyone around him that he is a deceased medical student at a British hospital. He is assisted in his ruse by a very capable nurse, Christine Taylor(Amanda Donohoe).

A fair comparison could be Paddy Chayevsky's classic The Hospital, with a jump over the pond. McGann and Donohoe are a perfect pair of flamboyant, off the wall strangers who manage to connect at some level. Paper Mask is one of my favorite unknown movies.