I realize that Laurent’s death was in keeping with the book; I’m just dumbfounded that they couldn’t at least have cast other Black and Latino actors in minor roles to make up for the ones they were disposing of.

True to the book or not, Laurent’s death is symbolic of the high mortality rate of Black men in Hollywood films and the sad but true rule of thumb that “the Black guy always gets killed”. Tyler’s unexplained absence only serves to further illustrate the careless if not racist approach Weitz took to the film.