A truly 'gripping' movie, and hugely under-rated. I almost wish a Hollywood studio had made it instead. The cast could not have been better, but a (much) bigger budget and better marketing would have given this wonderful movie the recognition it deserves. Sometimes the sound and lighting quality was lacking and it seemed to be crying out for a, frankly, better Director. The music was so-so and the hospital locations cry out (as in so many British films) Low Budget. That aside, it's still riveting and I loved the way I felt so utterly "taken in" as the story unfolds. Paul McGann plays a hospital porter who feels undervalued and dreams of one day becoming a doctor. Fate intervenes as a real junior doctor dies in a car accident and McGann is told to clean out his room. He assumes the man's identity, applies for a job in another hospital and, well you'll have to watch it and see what happens. The reason I'm such a fan of Paper Mask is that I spent the first half of the film willing McGann on and "feeling his pain" and wanting him to succeed and then, very slowly, realising his character is actually a psychopathic b*****d who deceived me just as he's charmed and used all the people around him. I felt desperately sorry for Amanda Donohoe as the nurse who tries to help McGann's fake doctor, then falls in love with him and then discovers the horrible truth but knows she can't tell anyone as he's managed to implicate her in his crimes. It gives the emotions a real workout, and that's what I class as good entertainment.
Review of Paper Mask
