Le grand simulateur

"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.

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...

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.

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.

Despite being over 30 years old now, this film has aged pretty well and is still a very effective (measured) thriller. Pretty much everything here is spot on, from the two wonderful leads (Paul McGann and Amanda Donohoe) to an effective script and tight direction/editing. A "lost" little gem.