Entrapment *SPOILERS*

The Strange love of Martha Ivers provides some great examples of the Noir entrapment theme.

Martha is trapped by the damage done to her personality by her abusive aunt, her guilt over the aunt's death and her role in the death of an innocent man. Walter is trapped by the expectations of his father, his weakness of character, his paranoia and his alcoholism. Every time Toni tries to get on that damned bus something stops her! She's trapped by her past criminality, Walter's blackmail and almost literally by the possibility of a 5 stretch for parole violation.

Sam seems to be the character most in control of his destiny but still, he is somehow drawn back to his old home town, marooned there by his broken car and held there by Martha, emotionally and also physically due to her intervention at the garage.

However, it makes sense that upon the death of Martha and Walter -who seem to be the epicentre of all that is poisonous in the film- a sense of freedom is restored. The optimism of the final scene is convincing to me, I feel that a bleak finale would seem a bit over-egged and too cynical. It feels like Sam and Toni have earned their liberation.