Cashback (2006)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Sean Ellis

Writer:

Sean Ellis (written by)

Release Date:

17 January 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes love is hiding between the seconds of your life

Plot:

After a painful breakup, Ben develops insomnia. To kill time, he starts working the late night shift at the local supermarket, where his artistic imagination runs wild.

Plot Keywords:

Art | Insomnia | Night Shift | Supermarket | Student

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Sean Biggerstaff	...	Ben Willis
Emilia Fox	...	Sharon Pintey
Shaun Evans	...	Sean Higgins
Michelle Ryan	...	Suzy
Stuart Goodwin	...	Jenkins
Michael Dixon	...	Barry Brickman
Michael Lambourne	...	Matt Stephens
Marc Pickering	...	Brian 'Kung-Fu'
Frank Hesketh	...	Young Ben Willis
Erica Ellis	...	Canteen Lady
Kenneth Fahy	...	Art Class Life Model
Stan Ellis	...	Art Class Teacher
Katie Ball	...	Art Class Girl
Celesta Hodge	...	Deer Girl in Sainsbury's
Nia Roberts	...	Woman at the Till

Also Known As:

Cashback (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic nudity, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

102 min | Canada:90 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | France:Unrated | Australia:MA | Netherlands:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R | Singapore:R21 | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-13 | Germany:12 | Japan:R-15 | Argentina:16 | UK:18 | Sweden:Btl | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Left Turn Films

Trivia:

The feature includes the 18 minute Oscar-nominated short film of the same title within its running time.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Ben stops time and starts to draw the naked girl in green you can see that she blinks, that should not be possible because time is standing still.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ben Willis: It take approximately 500 lbs to crush a human skull. But the human emotion is a much more delicate thing. Take Suzy, my first real girl friend. My first real break-up, happening right in front of me. I never thought it was going to be similar to a car crash...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in JCVD (2008)

Soundtrack:

Bolero

"You just have to see that love is wrapped in beauty and hidden away in between the seconds of your life. If you don't stop for a minute, you might miss it"

You find the most beautiful films when you least expect it. Yesterday I went to the Sneak Preview in the local cinema and I came out happier then I've been in weeks. Cashback is an odd combination of teen comedy and romance and the best thing is that it works! The story involves around Ben, an art student. He just had a rough (literally and figurative) break-up with Suzy. Ben has problems to forget Suzy. He can't sleep anymore and is emotionally broken. To speed up the eight hours he used to sleep, he starts working night shifts at Sainsbury's. The film follows Ben's process of dealing with his broken heart, while he is working with his silly colleagues.

Effectively the film also tells the story about Ben's past which shows how his fascination with the female body began and how those things formed the way he thinks about things now. While working in the supermarket he likes to freeze time, to capture the beauty of little things, and to draw pictures of the (naked) female customers.

This film is not about sex and teen jokes as some people probably will say. It is about having a broken heart, finding new love, finding someone that is the perfect other half of you. It is about beauty. The scenes where everything but Ben is frozen and he walks around the store drawing the portraits of the women just strike the right chord. Sean Ellis did a great job to make those scenes look that perfect. It's his ode to the female body.

All I can say is that everybody should go and see this film. It's the best thing I've seen in a long, long time.