Paper Mask

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...

"Paper Mask" is a very effective little medical thriller, well acted and compellingly written. Paul McGann ("Withnail & I", "Alien 3") stars as Matthew Harris, an orderly in a hospital who aspires to bigger things. When a doctor whom Matthew resembles perishes in a traffic accident, Matthew decides to assume his identity. Now, he's "Dr. Simon Hennessy", and manages to get hired at a different hospital despite his lack of extensive medical knowledge. Entering into a relationship with a sexy nurse (Amanda Donohoe, "Lair of the White Worm"), Matthew / Simon has a very rough start at his new job, but is able to improve his job performance through study. But he won't be able to cover up his deception forever......

An intelligent film with something to say about ambition, and the protection of image & reputation, "Paper Mask" is quite gripping, especially once the story (John Collee scripted, based on his novel) is well underway and it starts to get quite dark and nasty. While McGann is able to make his character engaging, there's no hiding the fact that he's lacking in the compassion factor, something that the officious Dr. Thorn (Tom Wilkinson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel") has picked up on early in the game. When Matthew makes the decision to cold-bloodedly remove an obstacle in his path, any sympathy he might have earned before is completely gone.

More squeamish viewers will wince at the scenes in which Matthew mishandles various accident victims, and at shots of needles being inserted into hands and arms. That moment of the "doctor" trying to "help" a man with a bad hand wound is particularly distressing. But the overall film is just so good that viewers will find it worth their time to stick with it.

The acting is right on point, with the amiable McGann scoring as this rather immoral antagonist. Donohoe delivers one of her best film performances. The two of them are well supported by Wilkinson, Frederick Treves ("The Elephant Man"), Barbara Leigh-Hunt ("Frenzy"), and Jimmy Yuill ("Mary Shelley's Frankenstein").

As of this writing, there are only 10 reviews for "Paper Mask" at IMDb. So clearly it remains a little-known film that hasn't gotten its due. Producer / director Christopher Morahan ("Clockwise") and company definitely knew what they were doing, opening with McGann enjoying the strains of the classic Platters song "The Great Pretender".

Eight out of 10.

If the plot of this movie is somewhat simple, the execution (!) is utterly fantastic. I went to this movie in the cinema when it came out not knowing what we were going to see (I think we walked into the wrong theater!!) What we got was the film of the century, thrilling and gripping and the thought of this really happening made it even more chilling. McGann is fantastic as he realises his "dream". Donohoe gets better and better as the movie moves along and her realisation that her position changes is cleverly acted. Why this movie has not received rave reviews over the years baffles me. Channel 4 have shown it 2 or 3 times and it must come out on DVD. Whilst it is set in the late 80s early 90s, it is pretty timeless. The message is simply don't get sick just in case.....! Enjoy

Went to see this movie by mistake when we just fancied a movie one night - turns out this is in my top 5 ever (although can't put it on FB because it isn't listed!!!). Gotta be the single most underrated movie of all time. Grips you, chills you, excites you and then spits you out - if you can sleep after this one then you don't care about a thing!! Paul McGann is almost accidentally brilliant, and it is so well put together. I haven't written anything here about any other movie, just Paper Mask. Goes to show that it's publicity and marketing that makes you or breaks you..... Anyway, if this is out on DVD (doubt it - it doesn't even have a Wikipedia listing - disgraceful!), then it's a no brainer. When I lived in the UK Channel 4 showed it a couple of times and so I probably have it on a VHS somewhere, but sadly don't have an active VHS recorder anymore!!

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.