Cashback (film)
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''Cashback'' is a 2006 British romantic
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film written and directed by Sean Ellis. Originally exhibited as a short in 2004, it was expanded to
feature length A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film ( motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...
in 2006. Both versions were produced by Lene Bausager, starring Sean Biggerstaff and
Emilia Fox Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox (born 31 July 1974) is an English actress and presenter whose career is primarily in British television. Her feature film debut was in Roman Polanski's film ''The Pianist (2002 film), The Pianist'' (2002). Her other m ...
.


Plot

After a painful breakup with his girlfriend Suzy, art student Ben Willis develops
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
. To take his mind off Suzy and to occupy the extra waking hours he has recently gained, Ben begins working at a local
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
supermarket, where he meets colourful co-workers. Among them is his colleague Sharon, with whom he soon develops a mutual crush. As his personal means to escape the boredom inherent in the night shift, Ben lets his imagination run wild. In particular, he imagines that he can stop time so that he can walk around in a world that is "frozen" like the pause of a film. He imagines female patrons of the supermarket stopped in time, allowing him to undress and draw them. A series of flashbacks occur with each progression of the plot, accompanied by Ben's narration and an examination of the effect the situation had had upon him. He explains how he always has been impressed by the beauty of the female body: how he, as a young boy, witnessed a Swedish boarder walk naked from the shower to her room. In another flashback, the young Ben and his best friend Sean share Sean's discovery of his parents' adult magazines, and Sean pays a neighborhood girl called Natalie fifty pence to show him her
vulva In mammals, the vulva (: vulvas or vulvae) comprises mostly external, visible structures of the female sex organ, genitalia leading into the interior of the female reproductive tract. For humans, it includes the mons pubis, labia majora, lab ...
. Other neighborhood boys repeat this trade. Ben's boss, Alan Jenkins, recruits the staff for a weekend
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
game and, after an embarrassing defeat, 26-Nil, Ben's mind wandered elsewhere, imagining he is not alone in moving around a time-stopped world. When Jenkins throws a party to honor his own birthday and as a consolation for their defeat, Sharon asks Ben to be her date, to which he eagerly but nervously agrees. Ben, on Jenkins' behalf and with Sean's help, hired a stripper for the party. During the party, Sean realized the stripper is Natalie while Ben encounters his ex-girlfriend Suzy, who implores him to try their relationship again. Ben refuses her advance, but she kisses him. Sharon who had just rebuffed Jenkins' drunken advances, witnesses the kiss from afar and angrily leaves the party. Ben realizes Sharon has seen the kiss. He seeks to explain himself to Sharon at her apartment, and a confrontation similar to the film-opening breakup occurs. Sharon henceforth does not show up to work at the supermarket. He spent days re-imagining that fateful event frozen in time, eventually concluding that he can't correct the mistake. As a
practical joke A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...
, colleagues Barry and Matt phone Ben; Matt poses as an art gallery owner who is interested in displaying Ben's drawings and schedules an appointment for Ben to present more to him. When Ben arrives as agreed, the reaction of the owner quickly reveals that he has been pranked. However, the gallery owner is nonetheless interested in Ben's work and decides to exhibit Ben's drawings. Sharon receives an invitation to the exhibition and visits. She is moved as most of the pieces depict her and she happily greets Ben, congratulating him on his success. This leads to the finale where the two reconcile, kiss, and step outside into a time-frozen snowfall.


Cast


Production

Originally exhibited as a
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
in 2004, it was expanded to feature length in 2006. The feature film includes nearly all of the content of the short. Following a decision in December 2005 to proceed with the feature, Ellis completed the expanded script in seven days. After getting commitments from his cast in March he secured financing and the film went into production in May. This schedule was exceedingly condensed by modern film making standards. As all of the key players were available to appear in the feature, it was possible to incorporate the original short virtually without change. The feature film uses an original score composed by
Guy Farley Guy Farley is a British film composer, arranger and conductor. Farley has received accolades and nominations throughout his career including 4 nominations at the 2014 Music and Sound awards, winning the best original composition for Marks and Sp ...
including one piece, "Frozen" which featured on the Classic FM album, ''The Quiet Room'' in July 2006.


Release

The feature had its North American premiere on September 10, 2006, at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
. It was later screened at a number of other international festivals. The film got a limited theatrical release in the US on 17 July 2007 and in the UK May 2008. The DVD for the European region was released in September 2007. The UK DVD was released in September 2008.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Cashback'' holds a score of 47% based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50/10. The consensus reads, "An unlikable protagonist, messy editing, and gratuitous nudity might make audiences ask for their cash back." In contrast, Justin Chang of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' described it as "slickly charming, gently erotic and directed with supreme polish".
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' said the film is "lightweight, as it should be", adding that Ben and Sharon "are delighted to be admired by such wonderful partners, and we are happy for them. And that's about it." Matt Seitz of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called the film a "crock", criticizing its "validation of Ben's adolescent concept of beauty, its wafer-thin characterizations, its gorgeous but overwrought widescreen photography and its abundance of 'How did they do that?' trick shots." Steven Rea of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' gave the film three of four stars, calling it "a sleek little meditation on beauty, desire, love and time", but saying it "isn't as deep as it pretends to be." Scott Tobias of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' graded the film as a "C−", noting its "luscious imagery" but ultimately calling it trite and unremarkable. Jeff Shannon of ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...
'' gave the film a positive review, commending its account of love and its visual style. Ed Gonzalez of ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' gave a particularly negative review, criticizing it for
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
and sexual objectification, adding that Ben is "just as skuzzily self-absorbed as his perpetually horny mates." Jim Ridley of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' said " e movie is too cute by half, made close to unbearable whenever Ben's narration spews glib pseudo-profundities about memory and temporal stillness", while also complimenting some of its comic and visual elements. Desson Thomson of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' was also critical, describing Ben and Sharon's romance as uninventive and the film as shallow.


Accolades

The short film won 14 awards at international film festivals and was nominated for the 2006
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...
. After the nomination, it was a popular download from iTunes (US).BBC
"Bookmakers slash Crash Oscar odds"
, March 3, 2006
;Short *
Brest European Short Film Festival The Brest European Short Film Festival (French language, French: Festival européen du film court de Brest) is a film festival dedicated to short films, happening every year in Brest, France, Brest, in the Brittany region in France. It has been ...
(Grand Prix) *
Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
(Gold Hugo) * Leuven International Short Film Festival (Audience Award) * Lille International Short Film Festival (First Prize) *
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
(Best Narrative Short) * FIKE 2005 - Évora International Short Film Festival (Audience Award) ;Feature * Bermuda International Film Festival (Won Jury Prize) * San Sebastian International Film Festival (Won C.I.C.A.E Award)


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cashback 2006 films 2006 directorial debut films 2006 multilingual films 2006 romantic comedy-drama films 2000s British films 2000s English-language films 2000s Spanish-language films British multilingual films British romantic comedy-drama films English-language romantic comedy-drama films Features based on short films Films about time Films directed by Sean Ellis Films set in London Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in Buckinghamshire Films shot in London Remakes of British films Spanish-language British films Spanish-language romantic comedy-drama films