User Reviews

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.

The attraction of the story is that it is entirely within the realm of possibility, and all the more so in view of the seemingly increasing incidence of medical impropriety these days. Hitchcock like in its use of the inevitable as an instrument of suspense, this gem will keep you glued to your seat to the end.

If Robin Cook or Michael Creighton had written this, their names alone would have made this a blockbuster.

The only shortcoming of this film is that the people responsible for promoting it at its first release evidently didn't have a clue. This is yet another example of the abysmal ignorance of marketing on the part of the British film industry. Evidently the owners of the property don't like making money. The only thing this film lacked was a marketing budget and someone to market it.

This is a film that should be released on DVD as a 20th anniversary edition or some such thing, and properly promoted. The owners are sitting on a valuable asset.

In the mean time, if you spot a VHS copy, snag it for your collection. You'll be glad you did.

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

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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...

Recently i've become a fan of Amanda Donohoe's films so i want to watch as many as i can. Being paired with Paul McGann had me hoping this would be a gem of a movie and i was right. It starts off at a leisurely pace and the dialogue is quite cheap and annoying. Donohoe comes to the rescue a few times. I should say there are 2 versions of the film. The one i watched (Region 0 and 105 minutes) was 5 minutes longer than my other "cheap copy" which was really postage stamp sized anyway so i got lucky there. You can probably guess what they omitted, the swine. Back to the plot and halfway in the intensity of the movie picks up and i really hope you can understand what is happening. It intensifies all the way to the end and i don't want to ruin the plot. Magic word for me was "Renal" (Renal flush, Doc ?) A must watch and another notch in Donohoes belt.