Trap for Cinderella is a British 2013 Thriller film. Micky regains consciousness in a hospital after a length bout of cosmetic surgery. Upon waking, she finds she's suffering from total amnesia, but is told that she is Michelle, and that since her parents died when she was 9, her aunt, Elinor, has been her guardian, guided by Elinor's personal assistant, Julia. She has a boyfriend, Jake, who happens to also work at the office of James Chance, Elinor's lawyer. There, she learns that her other friend at the time of the accident, Domenica, died in the fire.
Except... she keeps having flashbacks of her life before the accident, and they don't quite match up with the details that she's been told. The story begins to unwind that she was friends with Domenica as a child, that they were separated after seeing something at Elinor's estate, and reunited not long before the accident. And Domenica, "Do", had fallen for Micky, and was growing increasingly dissatisfied at just being her friend. Perhaps, the situation isn't so cut and dried, and Micky isn't certain who she can believe about her her history, and who she is...
The film is one of three film adaptations of the novel Piège pour Cendrillon by Sébastien Japrisot.
This film exhibits the following tropes:
- All for Nothing: Julia admits at the end that her plan was this, as Elinor left her estate to Do rather than Micky so the elaborate Surgical Impersonation of Do taking Micky's place (who before had been the intended beneficiary) was wasted.
- Amnesiac Liar: According to Julia, Micky is actually Domenica, and this was all a part of a conspiracy to get rid of Micky. In actuality, Micky had gotten wise to the plot, and Domenica was the one caught in the accident.
- Blackmail: Micky learns that a local barman, Serge, knows a lot more about what happened the night of the accident, and that he requires payment to not reveal those details.
- Bury Your Gays: Do, who it turns out loved her female best friend Micky, is dead at the beginning. She's the only LGBT+ character in the film. Nonetheless, she's shown throughout most of the film as an essential Posthumous Character via Micky's flashbacks.
- Childhood Friend: Micky and Do were friends as girls, before Do's mom wouldn't let them see each other anymore. They reconnected as adults and grew close again.
- Driven to Suicide: Do's father had shot himself as a result of Micky and Do discovering he was having an affair with Elinor.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: This seems to have been Micky's life prior to the accident. Alcohol and pills have left her life before the accident a blur.
- Identity Amnesia: Micky is uncertain of who she is upon losing her memory, especially after evidence starts to come out that she might actually be Domenica. She's really herself.
- Incompatible Orientation: Do turns out to have been in love with Micky, who rejected her (she's only shown as attracted by men).
- Lipstick Lesbian: Do had long hair, a demure manner and wore feminine outfits. It turns out she loved Micky, her female best friend.
- Love Confession: Do confessed her love for Micky in the past, who rejected this angrily.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Julia and Do planned to kill Micky by making it look like she'd died as a result of a gas explosion. However, Micky learned of the plan, and Do couldn't carry it out. So ironically it's Do who ended up dying in the apparent accident while Micky survived.
- Ms. Fanservice: Micky is very beautiful, having not only two sex scenes but also extended ones while topless at the beach or pools when she's wearing a bikini.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Micky's full name is Michelle, but she's only called it a couple times. Do is also usually called this rather than Domenica.
- Queer Establishing Moment: Do confessed that she loved Micky, her Best Friend, in the past, while until then it hadn't been explicit (despite them being very close).
- Quest for Identity: Micky starts believing that she's really Do and investigates, with the facts piling up showing this is the case. It turns out that she really is Micky.
- Parental Abandonment: Micky's parents both died when she was a child, she's told. Do's have also died since they last met as kids.
- Pool Scene: Micky and Do are shown at length wearing bikinis on vacation as they swim, sunbathe or lounge around by the water. This includes Micky going topless too.
- Posthumous Character: At the beginning of the film, both Domenica and Elinor are dead, but it turns out they're both extremely important to the twistings of the plot.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Micky and Do's friendship was extremely close. The pair are shown as having spent most of their time together, holding hands frequently. It's thus not too surprising to learn Do had a romantic/sexual attraction for Micky as well.
- Surgical Impersonation: After the accident, Micky's face was terribly damaged, and her face was reconstructed. Julia's plan had Domenica's face being reconstructed to look like Micky's to impersonate her. In actuality, Micky had her own face reconstructed. Their faces, and figures, were similar enough that it was plausible.
- Tomboyish Name: Micky is not a traditional female name (it turns out to be a nickname for Michelle, but that's rarely used). Though she does have a feminine style, Mickey's freespirited and bold. It's downplayed though.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Micky lost her memory due to being injured in a fire she survived.
