Trap for Cinderella
Tags: flashback

Plot synopsis:
The film starts with Micky (Tuppence Middleton), regaining consciousness in an hospital with Dr. Muller (Erich Redman) asking her if she remembers anything. Micky has suffered severe burn injuries and is suffering from amnesia. Over time she undergoes reconstructive surgery and during a session of psychotherapy with Dr. Sylvie Wells (Emilia Fox) we are informed that she is 20 years old and lives in London. Her parents died in a car accident when she was 9 years old. Her late aunt, Elinor (Frances de la Tour) took care of her ever since. Elinor had died recently sometime before Micky's accident. In the hospital Micky is shown photographs of her friends and relatives but she can't recognize anybody.
Sometime later Micky is discharged from the hospital, she has recovered from her injuries but has not regained her memory. Her aunt's personal assistant, Julia (Kerry Fox) is her guardian now and she takes Micky home. Jake (Aneurin Barnard) calls Micky on her landline but Julia receives the call and informs him that Micky is not ready to meet her friends. Julia informs Micky later that Jake was one of her boyfriends. Micky sees photos of Do (Alexandra Roach) and inquires about her, Julia tells her that Do is a friend and also that Do's mother (Elizabeth Healey) was a caretaker at Elinor's house. Julia also informs Micky that when she turns 21, she would inherit Elinor's entire estate.
Among the photograph she finds envelope sent by Jake, she keeps the envelope. While Julia is distracted by a call, Micky takes a cab and goes to the address mentioned in the envelope. The address turn out to be the office of James Chance (Alex Jennings), who was Elinor's lawyer. He informs her that Jake works for him. Chance is worried about Micky and tries to inform Julia, but Micky walks out of the office. She meets Jake outside Chance's office and goes to Jake's house to talk. Jake informs her that they had broken up the last time they met. They bond and have sex in his apartment. Jake gives her keys to her old apartment. Micky asks Jake about Do, Jake is surprised that Micky does not know it. He informs her that Do died in the accident that burnt her.
Micky next visits her old apartment, there she finds Do's suitcase which contains her letters, clothes and a diary. Micky reads the diary and it is shown in the flash back that Do used to work in a bank and they meet there after a long gap and they exchange their numbers. Micky and Do bond over again and Do informs Micky that after they had last met, her father (Tim Wallers) committed suicide and her mom is dead too. It is also revealed in a flash back that in their childhood, Micky had accidentally almost drowned Do and ran away scared. Do follows her and they see something. This causes Do's father to take his family away from the Elinor's home.
Julia enters the apartment and calls Micky as Do, this confused Micky and she leaves her apartment. She checks into an Hotel and instinctively signs the registry as Domenica Law. Micky continues to read the dairy, it is again revealed in a flash back that Do had moved into Micky's apartment and that the girls were spending lots of time together. Micky also realizes that Do was obsessed about her and was jealous about her relationship with Jake. Do starts to interfere in Micky and Jake's relationship causing fights between them. It is finally revealed that Do is in love with Micky but Micky considers her to be a friend. Do is also in correspondence with Elinor and is receiving money from her.
Micky starts to think that she could be Do and not Micky. She visits Julia in the morning and asks her to explain. Julia explains that few days before Elinor had died, she had visited them and asked them to visit Elinor in France as Elinor was very sick. Micky didn't want Do to come but Elinor had invited Do. Do and Julia meet again privately for lunch and Julia inform her that she has read all the letters written by her to Elinor. She offers her a way of it all but Do does not accept it. Next day Micky visits Do and invites her to come with her to France. The girls visit Elinor, who is too sick to talk. The girls stay at Elinor's house. They are watched by Serge (Stanley Weber). Do calls Julia up and inform her that she wants Micky and nothing else. Julia warns Do that Micky had ruined her life once by informing Do's mother that Do's father and Elinor were having an affair. This also explains why Do's father committed suicide. The girls continue to bond but Micky ditches Do to attend a boat party with Jean Claude (Pierre Boulanger).
Julia returns to inform Micky that Elinor had expired. Micky is distraught and goes into depression. Finally Do gives in and agree to follow Julia's plan. Julia explains that on 4 July she should set the house on fire and kill Micky in it. After that they plan to go to Switzerland and undergo surgeries to make Do look like Micky. As per plan Do sets the house on fire but for some reason unknown to Julia, Do jumps out of the building damaging her face. Finally Micky accepts she is Do but her memory is not completely back.
Julia and Micky return to Elinor's house where Micky meets Serge, who explains to her that she still has to pay him for the help he offered. It is revealed in series of flash backs that Serge overheard Do and Julia making plan to kill Micky. He inturn provides this information to Micky. This triggers Micky's memory she realizes she is Micky and not Do. Now that Do is dead Serge wants more money, Mickey agrees to pay him.
Julia returns to London for Elinor's will. Chance informs her that the will has not changed in 5 years, he also tells her that he was surprised that Elinor didn't grant anything to Julia. Julia reads the will and gives it back to Chance. Back in France Micky gives her car to Serge so that he can sell it to recover his money. Later in the evening Micky meets up with Julia, where she is informed that Elinor gave away all her property to Do. Micky takes the news calmly and says she knew it all along. This makes Julia realize that Do died in the fire and Micky survived. Julia attacks Micky but Micky manages to overpower Julia and kills her in the swimming pool.
As Micky comes out the pool the memory of the events of the accident comes back, it is shown that Micky catches Do setting the house on fire. Do confesses and apologies to Micky. Fire breaks out and Micky tries to convince Do to get out of the house, but the explosion cause the roof to collapse. This traps Do and she is burnt alive. Micky uses a towel to cover herself and jumps out of the building. As the movie concludes, Micky is shown walking around the beach.

Review: Despite the Critics, I Thought it was a More-Than-Adequate Adaption.
After reading previous reviews, I can only assume that most people have not actually read the book, "Piege pour Cendrillion." For most of the reviews complain about the ridiculous plot, which is not the fault of the producer, but the author of the original book.
I do admit, this plot is not at all realistic.
But first: realize the book this film was based on was FICTION.
Fiction is not supposed to be or held to be realistic.
Second: realize that if one wanted to make an adaption of the BOOK, they would not be able to greatly deviate from the novel's plot, considering they would have had to obtain the author's consent.
So if you did not like the plot, do not blame the screenwriters or the actors; blame the author of "Piege pour Cendrillon." Yet I have a feeling most people have not actually read the novel, therefore, you have no place to comment, considering this is an ADAPTION OF THE NOVEL.I thought the actors, directors, and producers gave a great performance based off of what they were given.
Cheers to all involved in this movie..
Do my dear my female dear.
It is actually the second version (I would not write "remake" ) of Japrisot' s thriller ;it was already transferred to the screen in 1965(two years after the novel was released).The director was André Cayatte ,an excellent old school artist too often ridiculed by the overrated new wavelet.(see "Piège Pour Cendrillon")By and large ,I'm not a fan of Japrisot whose plots are often complicated instead of complex and I do not put him in the same league as Boileau-Narcejac ("diaboliques","vertigo"),Frédéric Dard (whose "Toi Le Venin" broached the subject of the "double"in early sixties ),let alone Agatha Christie.That said ," Piège Pour Cendrillon " is a different matter;the subject is not new ("Spellbound" , the contemporary " the third day " ( 1965) "shattered" and countless others dealt with amnesia );but the treatment,including four parts ,each one containing the same verb in four different tenses of French conjugation was downright disturbing;and the ending was all the more baffling since the mystery was not solved .(It was the reader who decided )On the plus side,Kerry Fox took on Robinson's role-in the French movie- with consummate skill ;Alexandra Roach as brittle Do is eye candy;but it's not all good news :with such a story,it would have taken a great director and (mainly) a talented script writer (Japrisot wrote himself the screenplay of the French effort).Adding an overt lesbian relationship between Mi and Do does not help ,today it's no longer risqué and even trendy ,à la mode, as we French would say;an intrusive music does not help either.Editing is botched.Whereas the story was essentially psychological thriller,this flashy movie fills its quota of topless women and sex ,neglecting the harrowing frames of mind of the heroine..
Its a movie, not a book..
From another review:"So if you did not like the plot, do not blame the screenwriters or the actors; blame the author of "Piege pour Cendrillon." Yet I have a feeling most people have not actually read the novel, therefore, you have no place to comment, considering this is an ADAPTION OF THE NOVEL."This is a movie, not a book.
As such the Director and Screenwriter must be held accountable for what is produced not the author of a book.
It was the movie makers decision to use this particular book.
They could have chosen a million others.
My reaction to the book?
Haven't any, did not read it.
Why should that influence my abillity to review a movie?
That being said, my reaction to this movie was "meh.." at best.
Someones good idea but not my idea of good..
Predictable but entertaining.
'Trap for Cinderella' features Tuppence Middleton (most recently seen in the BBC's version of 'The Lady Vanishes') as Micky, a fun-loving party girl who is caught in an explosion at the South of France villa of her aunt Elinor (Frances de la Tour), of whom she happens to be heiress-presumptive.
Suffering from amnesia (and having undergone reconstructive surgery) as a result of the accident, Micky discovers the diaries of her childhood friend 'Do' (Alexandra Roach, Channel Four's 'Utopia') and enters a sequence of flashbacks - and flashbacks-within-flashbacks - piecing together the events that led to the explosion and frequently unveiling her breasts.
Watching with keen interest is Julia (Kerry Fox), Elinor's long-time PA.Clever - or manipulative - editing of the trailer has made this seem like your bog-standard psycho-lesbo-revenge flick, but it isn't (although there is a touch of Sappho about it).
Although written and directed by men, with all the main characters being female and only token presence from a couple of pretty-boys on the male side, it might appeal more to women than men, although if you're more interested in genre - psychological thriller - than gender that shouldn't matter.
It's not the cleverest plot - without trying to I guessed most of the big reveals, which probably means most other people will too - and some plot points aren't adequately explained (eg: why Elinor made the decision she did about who gets her money, although it's pretty obvious from the preceding story).
But it's entertaining enough, and the acting is agreeable, with Fox being a particular stand-out in her portrayal of scheming frustration.
If I had been directing, I would have made more of the swimming pool bitch slap-down between Fox and Middleton, but then I was spoiled as a younger man by those Joan Collins/Linda Evans fights in 'Dynasty'....
Good low budget British movie - it deserves a wider audience - minor spoilers.
After being in a serious fire, and suffering facial burns, reconstructive surgery, and amnesia, a 20 year old girl, Micky, sets out to find out her real identity.She discovers a diary that reveals a very close friendship bordering on lesbian love with another girl called Do.Micky unravels a web of deceit.
But is she the player or the one being played?
The plot takes twists and turns and isn't always coherent.
I found myself questioning many things that didn't make much sense.Nevertheless, Trap for Cinderella is a good low budget British film.
If you've been drawn to this movie because of the lesbian love aspect (due to the trailer), then you may be disappointed.
The lesbianism is suggested, rather than being all out there.
And it is all one sided.7/10..
The pace is too slow.
Review: From the beginning, this movie moves at a really slow pace, to the point were I just switched off and I concentrated on something else.
It doesn't really pick up until the very end, when the plot comes together and you realise what the hell is going on, but it wasn't anything amazing.
The characters were really dull and boring, along with the storyline which just wasn't that exciting.
I wasn't really that bothered about the whole conspiracy with the film because it wasn't interesting.
I could have done with some matchsticks to keep my eyes open!
Boring!Round-Up: I haven't seen these actors before so I wasn't expecting anything out of this world, but the adverts made this movie look interesting, which it wasn't.
I was hopping for an intelligent drama, but for most of the movie you end up just watching a girl who is obsessed with her best friend, to the point were it was just way to creepy for me.
I recommend this movie to people who are into there drama's about a girls obsession with her best friend.
Very watchable, especially the French village scenery..
Get with it, anyone who says its slow.
Clever story, where you sit smugly thinking you worked out the final twist, until all of a sudden it's a double bluff, with a final triple twist.
Well acted by Miss Jones - FDLT.
Beautiful 1963 E-type Jag.One problem, I would love to know where it was filmed.
Been to South of France a few times and didn't recognise the village.I liked this film.But what else can I addIt works well on NetflixPs Everton lost today, but I'm still OK I rode 20 miles on my bike this morn.
Spectacularly brilliant and highly sophisticated thriller by Iain Softley.
Iain Softley is one of the most original and talented of all British film directors.
He has directed so many astonishing films that one's mind has long been boggled by them.
There was K-PAX (2001, see my review), a film which entered another dimension and got the best out of Kevin Spacey.
Softley's first film was the excellent BACKBEAT (1994), followed by the innovative and gripping HACKERS (1995), where the young Angelina Jolie pushed the envelope.
And then there was the wonderful Henry James adaptation, THE WINGS OF THE DOVE (1997).
All of these were first rate films.
And now he has made a masterpiece of modern film noir, based on a French novel by Sebastien Japrisot, from which Softley has written the screenplay himself.
Japrisot (pen name and anagram of Jean-Baptise Rossi) is a well known writer, one of whose novels gave us A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (aka UN LONG DIMANCHE DE FIANCAILLES, 2004) with Audrey Tautou and Jodie Foster, and he also wrote THE CHILDREN OF THE MARSHLAND (aka LES ENFANTS DU MARAIS, 1999), which is very difficult to find with subtitles but is well worth the search and, I fear, the price.
This film is based on his novel PIEGE POUR CENDRILLON, which was filmed previously in 1965, though no review of it exists on IMDb. The earlier version was scripted jointly by the author and the famous playwright Jean Anouilh, along with the director, Andre Cayatte.
Not having seen the earlier film or read the novel, I cannot speak of their endings.
Nor do I intend to reveal the ending of this film, except to point out that it is not to be found within the film itself.
That may sound like a contradiction, but let me explain.
I have never seen, in all the mystery films I have watched over the years, a film constructed in such a way that the viewer is intentionally left to figure out the ultimate mystery of the film himself or herself, after the film ostensibly ended.
All of the evidence is there, and the director throws down the challenge to the viewer as if to say: I have hidden the answer in plain sight, now will you open your eyes please?
Really, that is such an exquisitely sophisticated thing to do that I am full of admiration.
In a way, you could say that this film is a classic intelligence test.
But we are not talking about any old whodunit, this is a psychological thriller par excellence.
The main characters are two girls who have known each other since childhood.
One is beautiful, rich and a raver, and the other is demure, attractive without being beautiful, doting, dependent, adoring of her friend, and tending towards madness.
In fact, both girls are tending towards madness, and in their case, one plus one makes ten.
The actresses playing the girls are simply spectacular.
The more amazing performance of the two is that by Alexandra Roach.
She has such sensitivity that she is like a violin that plays itself simply by being hung up on a peg in the wind, free to vibrate in a series of harmonies and disharmonies, as each scene requires and as the wind of the story blows.
She plays the dependent friend, named Domenica Law, who is called 'Do'.
Her performance is the key, and makes the whole film work.
One can imagine other actresses playing the other girl, but I can think of no other actress who could have played 'Do' so well.
The other lead actress has the charming name of Tuppence Middleton.
She must have had very whimsical parents and endured a great many jokes about her name at school.
She is certainly worth more than that.
Miss Two Pennies has a special quality of what I would call 'languid allure'.
This works very well in the quieter moments of her performance, and when she is meant to be raving, she ceases to be languid and becomes frenetic instead.
The end result is a nicely balanced portrayal of a girl on the edge.
Kerry Fox plays a sinister and enigmatic protectress, who may be a mantis.
The study of the intimate friendship between two girls who cannot bring themselves to part even though they are wholly incompatible is handled with elegance and sensitivity.
Perhaps Iain Softley is really a girl.
This is a deeply intriguing, intensely ambiguous and mysterious film with all kinds of resonances, some of them out of the range of hearing but nevertheless efficacious.
The film reminds me of Tartini's 'third tone'.
And that remark also is an intelligence test..
Fraud, deceit, and bullying aplenty; good story telling, not so much..
Mickey and Domenica meet each other after a number of years.
Do is a bank employee; Mickey is a photographer who lives as if she were rich.
Do quits her job, and they get to know each other somewhat.
They decide to get together at a house where they had common experiences as children.There is a terrible fire.
One of them is killed, and the other gets amnesia and burns on her face.As 'Mickey' recovers her memory, and recovers from reconstructive surgery, we switch to flashbacks of when the two had just met each other again.
Then there are further flashbacks to the estate where there was a near drowning incident when Do and Mickey were pre-teens.
Mickey was blamed for this and a subsequent event that was at least as bad.
They do not see each other for years, partly at Do's family's insistence.In the depths of these flashbacks, a plot is hatched.
Will it succeed?-----Scores-----Cinematography: 7/10 Mostly good, parts excellent, but sometimes in shaky camera mode, which looked horrid.Sound: 3/10 Bad sound leveling.Acting: 2/10 There was acting?
The characters were repellent, but not engaging.
I hoped the trap would spring on Cinderella so that the film would end.Screenplay: 4/10 Neither the pacing nor the labyrinth of flashbacks and reinterpretations were engaging.
I had a strong hope that all the main characters would be terminated with extreme prejudice..
A terrific thriller - if you give it some time.
A moody, absorbing, intelligent thriller.
For a lot of its running time, I thought the main twist was easily guessable (especially if you've seen the 1991 amnesia thriller "Shattered"), but in the end the film proves to be at least one step ahead of the viewer; I only THOUGHT I knew what was going on.
But the film is not all about the twists; at its center there is a complex, deep-rooted, emotional relationship between two women, exceptionally well acted by Tuppence Middleton and Alexandra Roach; though Middleton has the more showy role(s) (and exposes more flesh), Roach is the revelation of the movie - I bet she will have a great career.
Ultimately, "Trap For Cinderella" is a triumphant success.