Cashback (2004)

Ben is an art college student in London, whose imagination runs wild as he works the late-night shift at the local supermarket. What do he and his colleagues do to pass the long, endless hours of the night?

Director:

Sean Ellis

Writer:

Sean Ellis

Stars:

Sean Biggerstaff, Emilia Fox, Stuart Goodwin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Sean Biggerstaff	...	Ben
Emilia Fox	...	Sharon
Stuart Goodwin	...	Jenkins
Michael Dixon	...	Barry
Michael Lambourne	...	Matt
Hatti Riemer	...	Old Lady
Frank Hesketh	...	Young Ben
Irene Bagach	...	Frozen Girl 1
Christine Fuller	...	Frozen Girl 2
Celesta Hodge	...	Deer Girl
Kinvara Balfour	...	Shampoo Girl 1
Cherie Nichole	...	Shampoo Girl 2 (as Cherie Nichole Bradley)
Hayley-Marie Coppin	...	Swedish Student
Daphne Guinness	...	Checkout Counter Woman

Storyline

Ben Willis is an art student who works the night shift several times a week at the Whitechapel Sainsbury's. He's clear about the arrangement: he trades his time for money - cashback, as he calls it. We meet his co-workers, Sharon, Barry, and Matt, and their supervisor, Jenkins. Ben's colleagues are good at wasting time, but Ben talks to us about how he makes his shift go faster: by imagining that time has stopped. We see this late-night world of drudgery through Ben's eyes, as time does indeed stop, and he can get out his sketch book.

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Plot Keywords:

nipples | nudity | breasts | female rear nudity | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

You give 8 hours...They give you money.

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

There was no budget for wardrobe so the main cast borrowed uniforms from the store and shoppers wore their own clothes.

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Connections

Featured in 2005 Academy Award Nominated Short Films (2006)

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Soundtracks

In Ben's Mind
Written and Performed by Susanne Deeken
Copywright Control

User Reviews

Lots of nudity and angst--but is it art?

CASHBACK was nominated for the 2006 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film, losing to SIX SHOOTER. While the film had an interesting style and was filled with angst, I wonder if it was so artistic or interesting to merit the nomination. While I have not seen all the other films it competed against, I felt that perhaps it was an odd choice because on one level it might be seen as an artistic film but on the other it really just looked like a young film student trying to make a pornographic and offensive film that could be considered mainstream. The film is crammed with full-frontal nudity of some very beautiful women, though the scenes are not necessarily of a sexual nature (i.e., they are not engaging in sex acts). However, there are more up close crotch shots than I would have expected for this category and the crude sexual references (such as the sausage and shampoo scenes) just made the film seem rather gross in spots. Keeping the nudity and dropping the shampoo/sausage scenes would have greatly improved the film and given the project a greater sense of artistry--not smut.

Perhaps I am just a prude, but I was left feeling quite mixed about the film. It was interesting but seemed very gratuitous as well--like a film made by a few teens whose parents were away for the weekend.

By the way, if they DID want to make a mainstream film, having the movie star a guy named "Biggerstaff" didn't help their cause.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cashback

Filming Locations:

Sainsbury's, Whitechapel, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP30,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Left Turn Films, Ugly Duckling Films, RSA Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

18 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1