Cashback

R

Released Jul 20, 2007

1 hr. 42 min.

Romance

Comedy

Drama

List

47%

53 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Would-be artist Ben (Sean Biggerstaff) realizes he has an extraordinary way of dealing with the tedium of his dead-end job stocking shelves at a store - he has acquired the ability to halt time and explore the world while the rest of the earth's population remains frozen in place. Ben's unusual talent helps him forget about a nasty breakup with his ex-girlfriend Suzy (Michelle Ryan), but he begins to stop time so often that he may miss out on a new romance with his coworker Sharon (Emilia Fox).

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Critics Consensus

An unlikable protagonist, messy editing, and gratuitous nudity might make audiences ask for their cash back.

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Jim D

Beauty and love, with enough comedy to allow us to enter without shame. Sean Ellis shows how true love is beauty and true beauty is love in a fun, deep, and poetic way. The nudity might be a bit much, but much of it is needed and is in the name of art not lust. If you have or have had a broken heart, give Cashback a chance to provide some healing balm.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/07/24

Full Review

Ed B

Just not worth watching. Storyline poor with no logic or flow. Watched it and then thought why did I watch that pile...

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/26/23

Full Review

Rob T

Quirky comedy romance, with interesting characters. A young artist works nights in a supermarket whilst getting over his ex gf. Great soundtrack.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/28/23

Full Review

Muffin M

Whimsical romantic comedy full of old School charm. Great soundtrack by Guy Farley.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/22/23

Full Review

Marian

Loved this film as a teenager thanks to the nudity and accurate representation of boredom and drudgery as a wannabe artist forced into a mundane existence. Returning to it more than 10 years later, some of it seems to be gratuitous and drawn out, but the cinematography and theme of breakup / making time pass / finding beauty in small moments still hold up.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/05/23

Full Review

Kyle M

"The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that you're the pilot." Sean Ellis's debut seems to work around that very quote within poetic reflection in a randomly given ability for the thriving protagonist struggling with deprivation in any senses. Writer-director Ellis unveiled the titular short back in 2004 to acclaim over the subject's focus of meaning, then got motivated to round it out by expanding the story and exploring the subject. But as per usual in this sort of treatment of a short enlarged into feature length, even by the same filmmaker, it stretched thin and concluded mundanely albeit the aesthetical payoff. Even with the generic narrative apart from its original, and better, short form, "Cashback" treads almost like an ordinary laughable comedy mainly supported by the maintained theming continuously well-expressed. Coming from a nasty breakup, young artist Ben develops insomnia and takes up a night shift at a grocery store whereas the dead-end position grants him an ability to freeze time. The newfound world aids him perfecting his skills in capturing one's true fascinated essence and ponders on connections, he draws a line ae grows attracted to his coworker Sharon at a respectful yet cautious approach. Basically, the premise positions the protagonist in dealing with a breakup and how it affected his life including potential chances of any sort of new romance. That's under a realistic perspective, till you start analyzing if there's a metaphorically connective mean behind frozen time. The original short is seamlessly included in the film, but when Ellis gained the intuition to expand upon the characters and explore the concept just stretching it thin at a pedestrian pace into familiar territory without anything new like the short conceptualized. The short framed the concept reasonably, though the gratuitous voyeurism may be off-putting for some, but when expanding it with added intrigue and aesthetics, it lost its serving to the story demoted disposably as it only borderlines convoluting attempts at speculation rather than clarify the psychological role. Sean Biggerstaff ("Harry Potter") portrays the artist of focus as he delivers Ellis's screenplay impeccably, even still connected when returned to the project couple years later wherein then he embodies closer towards relation. His costar Emilia Fox enlightens as Sharon being the store's most relatedly sane while others drift unprofessionally and unethically, before trekking into rom-coms territory. Curiosity towards the concept and perversion towards the display with the moral thrive being the art plussed by actual comedy, but honest wonder towards the setting's insights as the most intriguing aspect is the main invitation, only to conclude that there's no telling how night shifts go down among many multi-staffed stores besides depicted in other pictures. Indie films are visionary freedom that can get intimate and personal to a subject for potential connection, while bigger productions are about spectacle and star power. However, the latter has easy access to our radars, while the former are usually categorized as hidden gems. Both tend to impress better than the other. "Cashback" highlights over its approach and comedic flex but lost the acclaimed sight by seemingly lessened motivation. As word-of-mouth is the best stated recommendation, the setting's more satirically suit through "Superstore" while best to watch the original short, if available, for a more sole viewing of what this film is. (B)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

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Sean Ellis

Director

Sean Biggerstaff

Ben

Emilia Fox

Sharon

Shaun Evans

Sean

Michelle Ryan

Suzy

Stuart Goodwin

Jenkins

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Rated: 2/5

Nov 18, 2011

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Joshua Rothkopf

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Rated: 1/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Rated: 3/5

Oct 18, 2008

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Mariló García

Cinemanía (Spain)

Not just a comedy. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 6, 2020

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Jason Best

Movie Talk

Fashion photographer turned filmmaker Sean Ellis rips off himself with his offbeat romantic comedy Cashback, which is based on his Oscar-nominated 18-minute short and incorporates all the earlier film's footage.

Nov 4, 2020

Full Review

Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

Rated: 1/5

May 8, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

Would-be artist Ben (Sean Biggerstaff) realizes he has an extraordinary way of dealing with the tedium of his dead-end job stocking shelves at a store - he has acquired the ability to halt time and explore the world while the rest of the earth's population remains frozen in place. Ben's unusual talent helps him forget about a nasty breakup with his ex-girlfriend Suzy (Michelle Ryan), but he begins to stop time so often that he may miss out on a new romance with his coworker Sharon (Emilia Fox).

Director: Sean Ellis
Executive Producer: Daphne Guinness
Screenwriter: Sean Ellis
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language|Graphic Nudity)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 20, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.9K
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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