Originally released as a short film in the UK in 2004, Cashback narrates the story of Ben, an artist student and insomniac.
Ben's insomnia beings when he is dumped by his girlfriend as they both realize that his incapable of making her happy. Unable to sleep and constantly reliving the moments prior to their breakup Ben finds work at a grocery store to occupy himself and for his work he gets "...cashback."
The employees of the store all have their special ways of making the hours of their shift pass faster, some pull pranks, some refuse to look at clocks, Ben prefers to stop time in his mind. At which point our protagonist waivers the line between artist and erotic voyeur. When in this state of frozen time Ben draws portraits of the female patrons of the store, some clothed and some nude. When he's done with his drawings Ben takes the time to redress his "models" and restarts time with the crack of his knuckles.
While Sean Ellis' story of heartbreak and love takes a detour from the traditional cookie cutter romantic comedy, it's only slightly creative enough to be considered time well spent. As much of the narrative outside of Ben's isolated existence in frozen time is par for the course in this genre. However, those looking for a few laughs and some expanded big screen nudity have found themselves a hit with this 2006 UK film.
