Cashback – 2006 | 102 mins | Drama, Romance, Comedy | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Award-winning fashion photographer and commercials director Sean Ellis wrote and directed the Oscar-nominated short film Cashback in 2004. Following a positive response to the quirky romantic comedy, Ellis developed the story into his feature debut. Like the short, the feature version of Cashback focuses on an insomniac art-student who takes a night job at a nearby Sainsbury’s; trading his extra time for money – cashback! This deft romantic comedy is built around a conventional love story narrated philosophically by Sean Biggerstaff, but Ellis introduces elements of time fantasy, childhood flashbacks and laddish nudity to distance Cashback from the majority of British rom-coms. Sean Biggerstaff gives an exceedingly subdued performance in the lead role, while radiantly charming Emilia Fox is similarly low-key but makes her presence felt as the film progresses. The supporting characters provide much of the same slapstick comedy which distinguished the short film.

When introverted art student Ben Willis (Sean Biggerstaff) is dumped by his girlfriend Suzy (Michelle Ryan), he develops insomnia. To pass the long hours of the night, he starts working the late shift at the local Sainsbury’s supermarket. There he meets a colourful cast of characters; practical jokers Matt and Barry, and juvenile manager Jenkins (Stuart Goodwin), all of whom have their own ‘art’ in dealing with the boredom of an eight-hour-shift. Ben’s art is that he imagines himself stopping time. This way, he can appreciate the artistic beauty in of the frozen world and the people inside it – especially Sharon (Emilia Fox), the quiet check-out girl, who perhaps holds the answer to solving the problem of Ben’s insomnia.

When Jenkins throws a raucous birthday party to recuperate from getting hammered at 5-a-side football; Sharon seizes the opportunity to ask Ben to be her date. Just when it appears that Ben’s love life is finally blissful, a chance encounters with Suzy threatens to destroy everything. To deflate Ben further, he believes an art gallery is interested in exhibiting his art; but the call proves to be another practical joke from Matt and Barry.