Cashback

Cashback is a rare film.  Every once in a while a film that I’ve heard nothing about will suddenly present itself to me.  In the case of Cashback it happened on a normal browsing session of the DVD section at Target.  One thing that I have to give Target props for doing, is helping highlight independent films.  Wal-Mart is great for finding blockbuster new releases and marked down catalogue titles, but Target actually has a small section in their DVD department set aside for indy and art house films.  You’re not going to find Criterion films, but you will find some low-budget gems.  I was scanning this section when I noticed the cover to Cashback.  I couldn’t help but notice it.  The cover features a woman in her twenties, walking down the aisle of a supermarket, a far-off look in her eyes and her top undone and draping down her bare midriff.  The banner with the film’s title conveniently covers the area that she has exposed.  The effect is mesmerizing. 

I didn’t buy the DVD when I first noticed it, but the cover image stayed in my mind.  I looked up the film on the IMDB and discovered it was an expansion from an Oscar nominated short film.  The next time I was in Target I picked up a copy, and Thursday night I popped it in the DVD player and started watching it.  The film has an R rating for graphic nudity, sexual content and language.  The back cover of the case shows a girl leaning against a stripper pole in an exotic dancer outfit.  All the signs pointed to this being a sex romp comedy like American Pie or Porkys.  This was definitely a case of not judging a book (or DVD) by its cover.  Cashback is at its heart a love story. 

The entire film springs from events related to a break up.  When Suzy dumps art student Ben (Sean Biggerstaff) he develops insomnia.  He can’t stop thinking about her.  Since he can’t sleep he decides to take those extra 8 hours a day and take a job at a local supermarket on the night shift.  He quickly learns that the workers at the supermarket each have their own way of fighting the clock.  Time is the enemy, he explains.  If you stare at the clock it seems to go slower, so the workers find every way they can to speed up time and get through their shifts.  Ben on the other hand takes a different approach.  He learns how to freeze time.  Literally.  He stops time and walks silently between the people stuck in the moment.  He takes his art pad and sketches them as they stand perfectly frozen.  He undresses the women and admires their beauty as he practices his life drawing skills.  When he is ready for time to start back up, he simply cracks his fingers and time is as it was before.

Ben soon develops an attraction to Sharon (Emilia Fox), one of his co-workers.  He spends hours in frozen time drawing her.  When they eventually end up going out, her kiss breaks the curse of insomnia he has been dealing with.  This is a truly wonderful movie.  It is not a laugh out loud comedy, nor is it a sex romp by any stretch of the imagination.  Yes, there is nudity, but it is not gratuitous.  It is artistic, like a walk through an art museum’s nudes collection.  The ending is especially magical as Ben, like the movie itself, is able to share the beauty he sees in these frozen moments.

The acting in this film is perfect as is the direction.  Certain shots continue to run through my head such as the intricate shot of Ben falling off the telephone into bed or the sleight of hand trickery shot of  store employee Barry (Michael Dixon) making his first appearance.  I highly recommend seeking out a copy of this film and watching it.  I give it 4 stars.

Tags: artist, breasts, Cashback, comedy, DVD, frozen time, independent, life drawing, love story, nudity, romance, Target