Cashback (2006)

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.

Director:

Sean Ellis

Writer:

Sean Ellis

Stars:

Sean Biggerstaff, Emilia Fox, Michelle Ryan

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michelle Ryan	...	Suzy
Sean Biggerstaff	...	Ben Willis
Erica Ellis	...	Canteen Lady
Jay Bowen	...	Steve Jenkins
Shaun Evans	...	Sean Higgins
Kenneth Fahy	...	Art Class Life Model
Stan Ellis	...	Art Class Teacher
Katie Ball	...	Art Class Girl
Emilia Fox	...	Sharon Pintey
Stuart Goodwin	...	Jenkins
Celesta Hodge	...	Deer Girl in Sainsbury's
Nia Roberts	...	Woman at the Till
Michael Dixon	...	Barry Brickman
Michael Lambourne	...	Matt Stephens
Hatti Riemer	...	Old Lady at Deli Counter

Storyline

When art student Ben Willis is dumped by his girlfriend Suzy, he develops chronic insomnia after finding out how quickly she moved on. To pass the long hours of the night, he starts working the late night shift at the local supermarket. There he meets a colorful cast of characters, all of whom have their own 'art' in dealing with the boredom of an eight-hour-shift. Ben's art is that he imagines himself stopping time. This way, he can appreciate the artistic beauty of the frozen world and the people inside it - especially Sharon, the pretty and quiet checkout girl, who perhaps holds the answer to solving the problem of Ben's insomnia.

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Plot Keywords:

female full frontal nudity | nipples | female explicit nudity | shaved vagina | labia | 

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Taglines:

Time flies, but the good news is that you're the pilot.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic nudity, sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

UK

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

9 May 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cashback

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,878, 22 July 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$24,942, 29 July 2007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,279,495, 5 May 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Left Turn Films, Lipsync Productions, MEDIA Programme of the European Union

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In one scene Ben Willis can be seen holding a photo of him and Suzy with a Quality control/Advice label. Looking carefully at the label one can read the following text: 'Blurred out memories. Camera shake - lost steady girlfriend. Focusing error - should have thought of her. Subject too close for comfort - allow 6 weeks to feel better. Plenty more fish in the sea. LIFE WITHOUT HER'

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Goofs

In the Zola Budd flashback scene the young Ben in shown watching the 1984 Olympics. This puts the year of Ben's birth in the mid to late 1970s which would make him late twenties/early thirties in the present, but the adult Ben is clearly portrayed as an undergraduate student of about twenty. The ages would be correct if the main body of the film was set in the mid 1990s but to accept that would involve too many anachronisms (references to texting, Sainsburys uniforms, cars in the car park, etc.).

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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. I've slammed the breaks, and I'm skidding toward an emotional impact. So, is this all my fault? Me, Ben Willis. It's funny what goes through your mind at a time like this. The two and a half years we spent together. The ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Before the credits roll there's another video of Barry doing a dangerous BMX stunt. This time it works, though, and he doesn't fall flat on his face.

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Connections

Spoofs Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

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Soundtracks

Set It Off
Taken from the album "The Teaches of Peaches"
Written, Produced and Performed by Peaches
Published by PeachesRocks Live, Inc (ASCAP)
Administered by Bug Music Publishing and Copyright 2002 XL Recordings Ltd
Exclusively licensed by Kitty Yo

User Reviews

"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.