''Paper Mask'' is a 1990 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Christopher Morahan Christopher Thomas Morahan CBE (9 July 1929 – 7 April 2017) was a British stage and television director and production executive. Biography Early life and career Morahan was born on 9 July 1929 in London, the son of film production designer ...

and starring

Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial '' The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which wa ...

Amanda Donohoe Amanda Donohoe (born 29 June 1962) is an English actress. She first came to attention as a 16-year-old living with pop singer Adam Ant, appearing in the music videos for the Adam and the Ants singles "Antmusic" (1980) and "Stand and Deliver" ( ...

and

Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...

. The screenplay concerns a hospital porter who decides to impersonate a doctor in a busy hospital. The film was based on a 1987 novel by

John Collee John Gerald Collee (born 1955) is a Scottish screenwriter whose film scripts include ''Master and Commander'' (2003), ''Happy Feet'' (2006), '' Creation'' (2009), and ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' (2013). He is also a journalist and a novelist. Co ...

, who also wrote the screenplay.

Plot

Mathew Harris is a porter in a busy hospital in London. While playing his banjo in his bedroom, he dreams of job opportunities, having previously dropped out from studying biology. One evening, he witnesses a car accident outside a local pub, where the driver of a car is killed in a collision with a lorry. Harris knows the man, Simon Hennessey, a doctor at his hospital and discovers he had been applying for a residency at another hospital in Bristol. Harris takes the dead man's mail, completes a job application, and applies for the job himself under the late doctor's identity. After studying medical books and assisting and observing procedures at his hospital, Harris is accepted. Before leaving, he goes to the swimming pool where his friend Moran is. Explaining he is travelling abroad, he gives Moran his silver cigarette case. He quits his job and settles in Bristol where he, as Dr. Simon Hennessey, is assigned to a busy

Accident & Emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

(A&E) department. Despite his inexperience, Harris completes his first few days without major incident, but is reprimanded by his superior regarding his poor patient record keeping. He meets and is aided by a friendly nurse, Christine Taylor. She soon becomes smitten with Harris, helping him through his busy first days. After saving the life of a woman patient, Harris becomes more competent and confident, but he is arrogant and corrupted by his newly acquired power and skill. Soon, Taylor and Harris begin an affair, which complicates their work relationship. When a patient, the wife of the chief medic, dies under Harris' care, he is charged with negligence. At his hearing, Taylor takes the blame, which prompts her to resign. One day, Harris unexpectedly meets Moran, who has moved from London to study to be a nurse. When Harris takes Moran to a remote area and admits his impersonation, asking Moran to keep his secret and leave the area, a shocked Moran threatens to report him. Harris follows Moran and pushes him off a cliff. However, Moran is critically injured rather than killed and survives long enough to be brought to the hospital for treatment. When trying to identify Moran, a nurse finds the silver cigarette case, which has Harris's name engraved inside, and assumes that it is him. Harris tries again to kill Moran in A&E, and succeeds by injecting a blood bag for Moran's emergency surgery with 20% potassium chloride. Meanwhile, Taylor finally figures out Harris' charade, after seeing the real Dr. Simon Hennessey's gravestone in London, while visiting her recently deceased father's grave. She confronts Harris, who convinces her to identify Moran as Harris, so he can be legally declared dead and continue his impersonation. Facing growing criticism, Harris transfers to another hospital in nearby Salisbury. He has however also agreed with Taylor to stop impersonating a doctor and move to London with her. However, rather than travel to London and Taylor, he heads for Salisbury. In the final scene, while Taylor hesitates over whether to report Harris' charade (which will also reveal her dishonest misidentification of Moran), Harris continues his charade at his new hospital.

Cast

... Matthew Harris *

... Christine Taylor * Frederick Treves ... Dr. Mumford *

... Dr. Thorn *

Barbara Leigh-Hunt Barbara Leigh-Hunt (born 14 December 1935) is a British actress. Her numerous theatre credits include Broadway productions of '' Hamlet'' (1958) and '' Sherlock Holmes'' Justice (1973) (1974), and she won the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Suppor ...

... Celia Mumford *

Jimmy Yuill James Evander Munro Yuill (born 13 February 1956) is a Scottish actor. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and later joined the Renaissance Theatre Company. He has appeared in many of Kenneth Branagh's films, most recently as Ed ...

... Alec Moran *

Mark Lewis Jones Mark Lewis Jones (born 31 August, 1964) is a Welsh actor, whose roles include that of a First Order Captain Moden Canady in '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', a police inspector in BBC drama series ''55 Degrees North'', a whaler in the film '' Mast ...

... Dr. Lloyd *

John Warnaby John Warnaby is a British actor who has appeared extensively in film and television. Career In 1996, Warnaby appeared at the National Theatre in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's ''War and Peace''. In 2006, he appeared in ''The L ...

... Dr. Hammond * Alexandra Mathie ... Beverley *

Oliver Ford Davies Oliver Robert Ford Davies (born 12 August 1939) is an English actor and writer, best known for his extensive theatre work, and to a broader audience for his role as Sio Bibble in ''Star Wars'' Episodes I to III. He is also known for his role ...

... Coroner * Frank Baker ... Happy *

Clive Rowe Clive Mark Rowe (born 27 March 1964) is a British actor, best known for his role as Norman "Duke" Ellington in BBC Children's drama ''The Story of Tracy Beaker''. He also starred as Mayor Doyle in the Disney show ''The Evermoor Chronicles''. ...

... Ants * Robert Oates ... Head Porter * Karen Ascoe ... Alison * Dale Rapley ... Dr. Simon Hennessey * Simon Adams ... Laurence * Hetta Charnley ... Medical Student *

Steve Waller Stephen Charles Waller (30 June 1951 – 6 February 2000) was a British musician best known as the lead guitarist and a vocalist for Manfred Mann's Earth Band between 1979 and 1983. He featured on the albums ''Angel Station'', ''Chance (Manfred ...

... Pianist

Release

The film was screened at the 1990

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

(Quinzaine des Réalizateurs) at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. The film grossed £23,893 in its opening week from four screens in London. It made £151,869 at the UK box office.

References

External links

* * * {{Christopher Morahan 1990 films 1990 drama films Films directed by Christopher Morahan British drama films Films with screenplays by John Collee 1990s English-language films 1990s British films