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 breaks up with 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:

Keep on dreaming. [Scandinavian DVD.]

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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

Frank Hesketh receives an "introducing" credit.

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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

References Diner (1982)

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Soundtracks

The Power of Love
Performed by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Written by Mark O'Toole (as O'Toole), Brian Nash (as Nash) & Peter Gill (as Gill)
Published by Perfect Songs Ltd
Produced by Trevor Horn for Horn Productions Ltd
Licensed courtesy of ZTT Records Ltd

User Reviews

To see beauty in everything

A guy and his girl break up. Painfully. As a result of this the guy becomes an insomniac and suddenly finds himself with 8 more hours in the day. 8 more hours in which he feels the pain of love gone sour. 8 more hours to be bored and restless. He decides to make the best of it and starts working the night shift in a supermarket where he is met with a new kind of boredom and several people that deal with that boredom in different ways. Himself adding yet another way of dealing with that boredom. He imagines he can stop time. What follows is best seen instead of read about.

This film is filled to the rim with the most beautiful stills, completed with several speeds of motion and feels right. Right in an artistically way. It is like watching a painting being painted,, like watching a poem being written, like listening to a song being composed. And at the end it all adds up and the completed picture is seen in all its beauty. All in all a really nicely designed film that belongs in the small theaters and in the art-houses.

Next to that it is fun to watch. The adventures of the guy are interesting to follow, even though they aren't all that different from what most people go through at one or other stage of life. Music choice was very fitting and acting was good enough not to be falling out of place with the rest. So, all in all, a very pleasurable watch and something I can recommend to anyone.

9 out of 10 sketches sketched