User Reviews

There are few films that truly cause the minds of its viewers to wander and transcend from one thought to another. This film inspired me to take a second to think about what a second really is and to cherish moments for what they are. Its a breath of fresh air just waiting to be taken in and surely those with intellect just waiting to be toyed with will surely agree. Being a citizen of the United States, I am rarely exposed to films that contain intelligent dialogue and inspiring acting. Unfortunately my country is filled with bumbling fools who appreciate things exploding and pointless violence more than a beautiful story. Alas, films such as this one remind me that there is still hope in this dreary world and for that i am grateful.

Our hero is a dorky art student, newly and painfully broken up with his girlfriend, attempting to find something to fill his sleepless nights. He goes to work at a grocery store, where his imagination and eccentric coworkers help him through the breakup and put a little romance back into his life.

There is some artistic nudity, where our protagonist sketches various men and women in the buff; none of it seems gratuitous, it's just one more part of the film. I'm a big fan of artistic nudity, although I have to admit I've never been able to get chicks to strip down in the supermarket as they do in this film. It's a talent, certainly, that every man could use.

Overall, it's a slightly offbeat romantic comedy of the sort we could use more of. Not formulaic, not predictable, but enjoyable and entertaining. I watched it with my girlfriend, who refused to pose artistically afterwards, but you can't have everything. I've noticed that romantic movies don't necessarily translate into romantic activities for the people watching them; there should be a category of movies that does so, although I don't know what it would be.

All in all, it's a good date movie, good couch movie, just a good movie to watch when you're in the mood for something lighthearted and quirky.

This is a small and simple film that has nothing simple and therefore results in nothing small. In fact, films like these show how some supposed delicacies produced by big studios can be put to shame by simple dishes by lesser-known authors who present us with delicious proposals made only with fine quality ingredients.

Everything in this movie results in. A script that is developed from a banal starting point, but which is treated in an original and emotionally elaborate way; an impeccable performance by the entire cast, which builds a gallery of characters that both provoke the most spontaneous laughter and moments of the deepest honest reflection; a cinematography sometimes just elegant, sometimes totally breathtaking; an extremely versatile and relevant soundtrack.

This is a film that comes out of a minor league, but that will not be considered as beeing at that level by anyone watches it.

I attended the world premiere of "Cashback" at the Toronto International Film Festival. I walked out in a daze. I had a feeling I'd seen something special, that moment when you have to pause to take a breath and reflect on what you've experienced. I still had about 20 films to go at the time, and "Cashback" raised the bar and became the benchmark against which all the others would have to be compared. As it turned out, nothing came close. Of the 30 plus films I saw that week, "Cashback" tops the list.

Literally built around the short film of the same name which screened at festivals in 2004, triple threat writer/director/producer Sean Ellis did something ingenious. Rather than take his 20 minute piece and expand it to fill 90 minutes, he created a new Act One and Act Three to bookend a reworking of the original short in the center. And he pulled it off with a tour de force of light and sound. The result is an eerie, compelling twist on the classic Outer Limits episode where time stops while the protagonist weaves in and out of the frozen characters in another dimension. It may sound like sci-fi, but this is a sweet romantic comedy whose storyline is among the most original I've ever seen on screen. The concept is brilliant and the result magnificent.

The look is lush, cinematography by Angus Hudson breathtaking, and "Cashback" features an appropriately sweet score. They combine to give this low budget project a big movie feel, destined for the wide audience it deserves.

Most of all, I believe "Cashback" is the vehicle which will introduce newcomer Sean Biggerstaff (Oliver Wood of "Harry Potter") to the world. His star tun in this film as protagonist Ben Willis left me speechless. The camera loves him, and he is on screen virtually from opening to closing credits. This film is his to make or break. It rests on his shoulders, and he owns the material.

As they say, you'll laugh, you'll cry, and I walked out with a tear in my eye and a smile on my face. And no other film I saw at the Toronto Film Festival did that to me. "Cashback" is a sweet little masterpiece.

Even though British cinematography is closer to Hollywood than any other (European) one, here's a fine example how a clever narration and fantastic cinematography can make all the difference (between this movie and some average rom-com - "Down to You" and "She's All That" first come to mind). Since "Playing by Heart" thought us that "Talking about love is like dancing about architecture." this movie tries to add an extensive visual layer to the story and it does it rather successfully. Some might find this movie to be pretentious and full of "shallow philosophizing" and "excessive nudity", but these are absurd statements. The thing that comes across is that this movie never takes itself too seriously and this is it's strong point. You are there to watch and enjoy and if you pick up something "meaningful" out of the entire babbling of the main character, good for you. If not, you'll still be happy just for all the eye candy presented to you. A win-win. And that's always good in my book.

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

Sean Ellis loves women.

Never met the man, probably never will, but that was the #1 takeaway from this uneven but thoroughly interesting film.

Lots of layered construction in the story.

Borrows from the Forgetting Sarah Marshall meme, starts with the protagonist losing his main love, that is the setup for all that follows.

Borrows from THE GIRL THE GOLD WATCH AND EVERYTHING, using the "time freeze" technique to sync up the viewer and the exposition.

Borrows from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, using a probing sort of voice-over to fill in the uneven parts of the story, as with the time freezing (see above) But most of all, when you leave the theatre (or turn off the DVD) if you think about this film at all -- and you may -- what you will remember most are the orations on the beauty of women and the joy of discovery thereof, along with related ideas on how the nature of the female form may not itself be the original art form...? Very uneven -- all the fun parts are off the top, by the half-way point you might be excused for thinking you had stumbled into a regular run of the mill romcom.

Fox steals her scenes, exactly as one might expect.

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.

I had never heard of "Cashback" until I noticed that eye-catcher of a DVD-cover in my local videostore. It doesn't happen very often that movies with an interesting DVD cover are also very interesting to watch. "Cashback" is the exception to that rule.

The movie has got an interesting concept. Ben, a guy whose just been dumped by his girlfriend, suffers from insomnia and takes on a job at a supermarket to use his extra time and make some money during the night. There he gets to know some wacky characters who all have their ways to fight the boredom of their eight hour-shift at work. Ben has got his own technique: he "freezes" time and walks around, looking at the beauty of things (mainly nude women).

"Cashback" starts out so great. It's heartbreaking to watch Ben suffer from the break-up with his girlfriend. The movie gives us even more to identify with when Ben takes on the job at the supermarket. We all know that feeling of being stuck in a dead-end job with an idiot boss and time just won't go by during your shift. And when Ben starts freezing a moment in time for the first time, that's the obvious highlight of the film - especially for men, who can watch Ben living out one of their greatest secret fantasies (just why are there only girls who look like supermodels in this movie?).

It was interesting for me to learn afterwards that this portion of "Cashback" had been a stand alone short movie two years before the release of the full length feature. (Apparently, it has even been nominated for an Oscar!). Well, that makes a lot of sense in hindsight as the rest of the movie seems very much built around it.

Firstly, the character of Ben's boss has a weird change of personality. Whereas he is kind of aggressive in the time freezing-sequence, he comes across as a ridiculous, but likable dork in the rest of the movie. The tone of the story also shifts curiously throughout. "Cashback" starts out as a clever drama in the vein of "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind", then all of a sudden there are some totally goofy and uncalled for feelgood-comedy moments spliced in (worst offender is an unbearable montage of all the main characters getting ready for a party by dancing around in front of their mirrors - yuk!). When the movie ends, it has turned into an unrealistic romantic comedy with a sappy ending, leaving the viewer with the feeling of just having watched a strangely incoherent film.

Knowing that director/writer Sean Ellis had to extend his original idea and write a whole motion picture around it, I can see where this incoherence is coming from. It's a bit of a shame that Ellis wasn't able to stretch out the feel of the short movie over the course of 90 minutes, but "Cashback" is still an enjoyable little flick with a great cast and some highly intriguing scenes. Definitely check it out, if you get the chance.

What an intense and creative film this is and what a treat it was to have the charming Sean Biggerstaff present it at the Stockholm International Film Festival. He is proud of 'Cashback', and rightly so – for you will be pressed to find a prettier fantasy or funnier characters in a film this year.

'Cashback' is director Sean Ellis' debut feature and he recreates the atmosphere of his same-titled short film with deft strokes, breathing life into a fantasy movie masking as a romantic comedy. Do not write it off on the basis of this negatively-connoted label, rather see it as a creative drama that delivers comedy by the bucketload. The fact is that 'Cashback' delves deep into the emotions of its protagonist Ben Willis (Sean Biggerstaff) much like a drama. It opens with his girlfriend dumping him, screaming and throwing things. In the following weeks, Ben suffers from insomnia and thus finds that he has eight extra hours at his disposal. To pass the time, he works the dreary nightshift at Sainsbury's.

The supermarket job is mundane at first but soon offers an outlet for Ben's creative side. As an art student, he learns to find the beauty in still images every second of the day. This includes the unspeakable beauty in a spilled bag of green peas on aisle four. It also includes freezing time and undressing women (Ben finds great source of interest in the female form), arguably the film's most intense sequences. Here there is a kind of seamless intercutting of scenes, scenery, flashbacks, reality and fantasy that all melt together fluently as the director navigates through Ben's life and thoughts. The latter soothingly narrates the course of events, which cements his likability as a central character.

The unspeakable beauty in the dreamy cinematography is rivalled only by the other side of the tapestry – the comedy. I was rather unprepared for this diversion into hilarity, and expected Cashback to be a drama. Naturally, the amount of well-placed comedy floored my low expectations. In the front row for hilarity sits Ben's two colleagues at Sainsbury's, whom he introduces in brilliant ways. These are two dumb and goofy guys in their late teens who pass their time doing pranks and acting like idiots, such as smuggling sex toys in women's shopping bags at Sainsbury's and guffawing at the effect when she sees it and picks it up. The passing of time indeed proves a central theme in 'Cashback'.

But there is a wide array of noteworthy performances from the supporting cast, not just in Barry and Matt. Ben's boss also proves a massive crowd-pleaser and the level of seriousness which he applies to situations (such as the mighty football tournaments between supermarkets) is a goldmine for comedy. As ever, there is a romantic interest (Emilia Fox) – a girl who works at the same supermarket during the same shifts – who is the film's most likable and interesting character, bar none. My theatre audience also demanded Sean Biggerstaff on some info on this lovely actress.

It needs to be said that 'Cashback' is a sexually aggressive film with plenty of nudity and stories of sexual awakening. All women are also suspiciously attractive (it has often been brought up, beamed Biggerstaff in the Q&A session). It's funny, it's sexy and it's sweet – puffed full of insights in Ben's narration. Better yet, it is a surprisingly ambitious film that strikes me more as a mainstream feature than quirky indie fare (if it wasn't for the nudity). For instance, the classical score is so epic and well-fitted that it sounds like it belongs in 'Gladiator' or any other high-profile sweeping epic. For that matter, Sean Ellis has worked in a homage to the latter at one point when the boss gives a rallying speech during the football tournament, telling his employers to think of him 'as Russell Crowe'.

The film has only two faults as far as I can see it: its wildly unfocused story and its slightly cheesy ending. The former did not prove a problem or a distraction, but rather made it feel like 'Cashback' attempted a lot of different story lines and detours and diversions. That said, I can see how it could be considered a problem. The ending discards some of the unpredictable magic by tipping into saccharine but it is nothing fatal. The fact is that Cashback is a remarkable film in both comedy and drama aspects and I urge you to watch it if you are even a slight fan of Biggerstaff.

9 out of 10

Well u except a lot like the age old teenage flicks after seeing the posters ...but,for real,well for once u r in for a treat....Sean Ellis brings u a fresh inside into the world of love,crushes,sex and work.Well for starters the main protégé ,Sean Biggerstaff plays a sadistic non sleeping ,smeone who has broken up with her loved one and just cant get over it....as for the rest ,the movie follows to how ,the young man,finds himself a job with a supermarket and his co-workers.

like all British comedy's this one get on the dark side of the funnier self.an excellent cast and great screenplay...make this a movie worthwhile.its 7 out of 10 ..from me ....thts it ...

The film is an utter waste of time, shallower than graphene. One of the many problems of this film is the gap between what it pretends to be, and what you actually get. There's an inconsistency in the flow, sometimes the film tries to be poetic (and fails), and a minute later it'll be a crude sex comedy similar to American pie. As a result, the two styles destructively interfere and you can't help but feel cheated. The script is just horrific. Uninteresting scenes get a lot of screen time, the level of depth is as mentioned before: shallower than the thinnest material known to mankind. If you are a teenager, you may not mind because of the multitude of silent beautiful nudes that appear there (with questionable justification). It made me feel that a random guy with a camera shot some nude models just because he could, and then he called it "art" to get away with it. I'd expect a rating below 6 for this one. The current rating of the film (7.4) made me stop trusting IMDb ratings...

Captures a feeling being a grad about that time, the crap jobs you take and being a stupid boy with girls.

Still would have got back with Zoe.

Having seen the film a few times, I can really say: 'I don't think there is a person out there who wouldn't enjoy watching this great piece. It's a formula that works beautifully. It is cool - without being pretentious. It is beautiful and sexy - without being cheesy. Very few films touch a chord in you. This film certainly does that. I think, those individuals who express a lot of negativity towards the film - have issues. Deal with them first - then watch the film. Being a regular cinema visitor and very familiar with the standard of films we get fed, I can happily and confidently confirm that this film is a gem that really shines!

It has that kind of magic that not every movie seem to achieve.

I loved the appreciating beauty aspect. I think Cashback is beautiful, at least aesthetically, the film's photography, the scenery are beautiful, kid of magical sometimes. I loved the ending scene, it was so lovely. Another great thing is that this movie always keeps you in touch with the characters and their thoughts. And yes, it has lots of nudity, but it was always in context, sometimes non-sexual & cleverly done, so beautifully done, it has class. This movie is even fun sometimes but it even moved me a few times, I would totally recommend it. The story is simple but in a good way, the writing is also very good. It also has a great soundtrack. The sequences of the time stops are really brilliant. I wouldn't say it's one of the greatest movies I've ever watched, but it sure is one of the most artsy movies I have ever watched.

Amazing camera work, wonderful acting, surreal characters in a very interesting story. Who would throw these characters together in the same story? An amazing stretch of imagination and story telling. Yet somehow it all fits in a blissfully overwhelming joy of not really knowing how it all happened but grateful that it did.

I could actually see this really happening except for the time shifting and the fact that all the women are stunning. The story rings true.

I felt at the end of the movie that the film maker had given me a glimpse of what it must be like to be an extremely talented artist in the midst of varying degrees of angst, joy, despair and creativity. Thank you for this movie.

The big debate about this film seems to be if it is creepy and prurient, or not. I can't decide. Yes, the nudity could be considered gratuitous, but then you could say that about any film. Many, many films were made in the Forties and Fifties with adult themes but without nudity. Female nudes are simply beautiful, and that has been known and celebrated by artists for centuries. Was all that prurient? Maybe. Is my opinion about this prurient? Maybe. But I liked the film, and would have probably liked it less if it had been censored.

There is a certain group of guys, that somewhere in the deepest part of their heart dream about similar stories full of the sensibility and feelings . Group of guys who are falling in love every day, on the tube, at the supermarket… Who can freeze the time, and admire the beauty of an unknown woman. Guys who imagine in their heads hundreds of "what if" scenarios, but they hardly ever try to conquer their fate, being afraid of rejection. This movie is not only about these guys, but also for these guys. As I belong to the most radical part of this society, I have to say… I loved it. There is a main character, who looks at the world through my eyes, the Sainsbury's venue is almost as absurd as the office that I work at, and the beautiful Sharon, is like the secretary of my boss. I cannot paint , but I write poems about her and hide them deep in my old office drawer.

Being a comedy, the movie did get points knocked off for not being very funny, but, seeing as it's a drama/romance, it had a chance to redeem itself. Putting the seldom appearing silly jokes shown in the movie aside, the movie had a very original story, using a cliché plot, which sounds confusing, but it works. The drama was heartfelt, and the romance was shown in a different and unique way, having similar scenarios to other movies, to a portrayal one would see in other movies. The story itself was pretty impressive, referring to the backstory of the protagonist mostly. I liked how it all tied up well, and the message was one that doesn't appear in a lot of movies, which was also something nice to see. One big thing that I really didn't like about it was that it got very dull at certain points, and those points were not rare. The movie became less enjoyable because of that factor, but, nonetheless, it's a piece of art (if you've watched the movie you'll get my reference).

This is actually a philosophical movie that tries to explain one of the most eternal questions: "What is love?" The insight, thoughts and descriptions in this subject, are very interesting.

With a lot of nudity, humor and nonsense, the movie is never boring, and always keeps you in touch with the characters and their thoughts.

Cashback depicts love as a very much OCD thing. An aching, never quenching drive and thirst for your loved one. Along with fulfilling each others dreams. Very romantic, maybe just a little bit too romantic and perfect. Then again maybe i'm the skeptic.

Enjoy, the thinking part will follow instinctively if you're a thinker.

Film protagonist tries sex with his intellect and his emotional control. For this fight, first to see your girlfriend in a misunderstanding are miles apart and are finally separated. The result broke his chronic insomnia that keeps every door to a sleep but does not succeed. And inevitably in a boarding store to keep busy. Courses for his talent and his good converter is a good painter. His inner art blends in and turned him into a myth that with time to stop anywhere and do anything he can do that and watch the passer with the precision of human figures to create beautiful paintings.

Among his familiarity with the store cashier and his legs have peace in personal relationships missed his will and this time very precise and more sensitive girlfriend accompany you to the previous traumatic experience not be repeated.

But the other characters in the movie are like a painter is our example for easier ways to control their sexual and always chose to react quickly to the impasse and girls are facing.

Overall, this film teaches young though may in childhood and adolescence with abnormal sexual scenes, but the way of success faced ego control, the use of their talents within the film that was defined with the painting. Ability to communicate at the end of the movie fit with the opposite sex to a closed gallery becomes. Of course, the new power of stopping time and he was born. And eventually enjoy the unmatched power with his friend and his partner are also there to take

This film is absolutely LAUGHABLE. It screams of a young art student's desperate attempt to say something meaningful but actually has only the dumbest, most base things to say.

The film's hilariously pretentious and meaningless tagline is "Sometimes love is hiding between the seconds of your life". Make no sense to you on a first read? Good, because it makes no sense after you have seen the film either.

The protagonist in this piece of drivel is an aspiring artist (of course he is) who works in a menial job stacking shelves at a supermarket (ah, the under-appreciation budding artists out there - breaks your heart, doesn't it?) To relieve the tedium of his job, he pretends he can "freeze time" and appreciate the beauty all around him. This is where the film really starts to bite. How does this insightful young man appreciate beauty? What wondrous things can he see that we ordinary folk fail to? Titties!!! Basically, he walks around mentally stripping women in the supermarket and contemplating their bodies. Hilarious. What a GENIUS!!! This wouldn't even be so bad if he was discovering some kind of "hidden beauty" or something all human beings share but is easily overlooked. But no! The only inhabitants of this Sainsbury are Page 3 bikini models! That's right - all perfectly formed, 19-24 year old stunners; waxed, toned and in perfect condition. One of the customers is even KEELEY - the famous Sun topless model. I mean you are JOKING, aren't you? This is a 13 year old boy's idea of "hidden beauty"!!! I won't bother discussing the rest of the woeful storyline that serves as a plot, suffice to say that when our young boy genius walks into a professional art gallery, the owner is immediately dazzled by his mediocre sketches and indicates that he has a big future. Yup, that's just how it happens in real life! If you find this movie interesting or profound, you truly are as ignorant and facile as the director.

Disgracefully bad.