Decider Throwback: ‘Cashback’

Ben Willis (Sean Biggerstaff) is finishing up his art degree when out of the blue he gets dumped by his longtime girlfriend, Suzy. After the breakup, Ben becomes an insomniac and takes up a night shift gig at Sainsbury’s supermarket to help pass the extra eight hours he’s just gained. One night at work, after several weeks of no sleep, Ben discovers that he can freeze time, which he uses to his artistic advantage by undressing female customers and drawing them.

In case you haven’t seen this beautiful, weird little movie in a minute, let’s revisit the British supernatural romance for a second impression. If memory serves us right, it was borderline soft-core porn mixed with time travel, art, and really cool slow-mo. Cashback was based on the Oscar-nominated short of the same name by first-time writer-director Sean Ellis, who then turned it into his first feature. Ellis hasn’t done very much since Cashback, but his dreamy film about art spawned by insomnia is mixed with a slew of advice on how to get through an eight-hour shift of work and keep your sanity.

1:15: This is Suzy. Normally she’s a pretty girl, but right now she’s really pissed. This opening scene reminds us ladies how ugly we apparently look during screaming matches.

3:00: How could you throw a lamp at this adorable face?! Look how adorable he is! What a shame for Suzy, Ben here is a real keeper. (Harry Potter pun anyone?)

5:30: Ben is really good at art.

14:15: Yeesh, Sharon was a real troll in the beginning.

17:09: Besides all of the nudity in this movie, the “Fundamentals of Still Life” scene is one of the most memorable.

24:07: Still convinced this is a doll and not a real person, as she’s never seen moving — neither leading up to when Ben freezes time nor after he cracks his fingers and brings things back to speed.

25:09: Ah right, that’s why he loves drawing boobs so much! So apparently he grew up with a Swedish exchange student who walked around the house stark naked, corrupting little Ben.

26:09: So this is what happens when you decide to go late-night grocery shopping: some weird artist disguised as a clerk freezes time, takes off your clothes, and draws you for his own pleasure.

33:20: This is Natalie, and she’s about to reveal that she’s a baby stripper who makes money by flashing her goods for the boys around the neighborhood. It’s because of her that Ben’s best friend Sean calls every hookup gal pal “a Natalie.”

41:00: Whoa! That’s a hairy arm.

54:11: Suddenly it’s become an epic soccer movie.

57: 01: Yikes! Guess Ben isn’t the only one who can stop time. Pretty sure this is never explained and we never see this person again.

1:05:50: Told you it was a softcore porno.

1:08:00: She looks like Gwyneth Paltrow on a really bad day in about 10 years.

1:10:30: Do light-up stripper poles really exist?

1:12:30: Now Sharon is a total stunna!

1:15:00: Totally useless character. There was absolutely no need for nunchuck boy.

1:21:00: Hey, it’s Natalie as an actual stripper!

1:28:00: He hasn’t slept for over a month. Pretty sure he’d be dead at this point.

1:32:00: OK, if you unknowingly walked into a gallery filled with your face, how spooked would you be? Really think about it; it wouldn’t be romantic at all.

1:35:30: Aww, they can freeze time together and walk around in frozen time land for however long they want! Yay! However, Ben just stole the final line from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which is a little off-putting.

See where you can stream Cashback on GoWatchIt.