Cinderella Story

He recreated the Fab Four in Backbeat, went all period on us in The Wings of the Dove and well nigh convinced us that Kevin Spacey was an alien in K-Pax. And now Brit director Iain Softley's off on another characteristically unexpected tack to tackle an intriguing thriller called Trap for Cinderella. But before your suspicious minds leap to the horrifying idea that the festive season might have driven the man mad enough to contemplate bringing his local panto to the screen, this Cinderella story's one dark tale indeed. No Prince Charmings here, thank you very much. Just a hint of murder, a spot of amnesia and a good dose of moral murkiness to wallow in. Adapted from a 1964 novel written by French author Jean-Baptiste Rossi under his pseudonym Sebastien Japrisot, Trap for Cinderella kicks off with a suspicious beach house fire in which two women are trapped – one rich, the other poor. Only one survives, burnt beyond recognition and – rather conveniently for plot reasons – saddled with total amnesia. Plastic surgery saves her beauty, but doesn't help her to find out who she is – the heiress or her penniless friend? A killer, or an intended victim? Sounding promisingly like Memento with a reluctant femme fatale, this looks mighty like a whodunnit with a difference.