Andrew Sarris's Projections

Andrew Sarris reviews Broken Flowers in the latest New York Observer. In the film, Bill Murray plays a rich, retired, middle-aged white guy. His main (only?) friend appears to be Winston (Jeffrey Wright), his Ethiopian-American next-door neighbor. What does Sarris have to say about this? "I wish that rich Americans were as enlightened as Don on racial matters."

I don't know that many rich Americans--probably less than Sarris--but it doesn't exactly stretch my imagination to think they could be on good terms with a black neighbor. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of a single rich acquaintance who would reject Winston out of hand, much less take action against him. (I know a few poor Americans who might, but I hope they've mended their ways.)

PS Here's Sarris on the film's cinematography: "[It is] beautifully photographed by Frederick Elmes with an appropriately grayish eloquence that, as much as anything else, conveys Mr. Jarmusch’s bleak view of the American landscape and of the possibilities of American life in general."

I say don't be fooled by Jarmusch's deadpan style. His America, including the underside, is filled with both beauty and possibility.