The Good: Funny, Clever, Interesting characters, Well-written
The Bad: Entirely predictable plot and character arcs, Pacing
The Basics: Cashback is an enjoyable clever film that explores the loss and isolation one man feels after a break-up as he creepily pursues his art career by stopping time repeatedly.
As I prepared for the New Year, I had the chance to take in a few new-to-me movies as my wife was called to work for the evening. The film that was the centerpiece of the evening was Cashback, an indie film I didn’t know much about before seeing it. I found Cashback to be a quiet, occasionally clever film that was written and directed by Sean Ellis.
Sean Ellis, as it so happens, is a British writer-director who took an initially clever idea and made it into something creepy and later predictable. What seems like an audacious premise quickly turned into an obvious plot and character arc for the film’s protagonist. Instead of doing something enduring and truly different, Cashback instead pairs the protagonist with the only available female presented early in the movie, making it more obvious than challenging.
Ben Willis is terribly dumped by his girlfriend, which casts his life off its straitlaced course. As he studies art at a local college, he discovers he can no longer sleep following the break-up and he decides to take a night job with his extra eight hours of awake time. At the grocery store, he meets Sharon, who is being relentlessly hit on by their mutual boss. As time passes increasingly slowly for Ben, he discovers the way he can get by emotionally is by stopping time. While stopping time, Ben Willis walks around the grocery store, undressing the women there and sketching them.
After a football (soccer) game between grocery stores, wherein Ben discovers there are others who can move during stopped time, Ben and Sharon begin dating. In preparation of their boss’s birthday party, Ben and his friend go out to get a stripper and Ben sketches Sharon. Unfortunately, for Ben, his ex-girlfriend shows up at the party and causes him complications.
Cashback oscillates between being deeply insightful – Ben’s comments on the human condition when he is being broken up with are poignant, universal, and well-articulated – and utterly creepy (his undressing women to sketch them has a real rapey quality to it). While Cashback is artistic and explores childhood sexuality in an intriguing way – the exploration of Ben Willis exposed to the female form at an early age is well-rendered and something not frequently shown on film – the movie meanders and never finds its balance. Cashback starts as real and incredibly grounded, but turns into something far less compelling and grounded.
Ben never expresses any fear over the possibility that his stopped time ability will wear out before he is prepared and that seems uncharacteristic for the lonely man after he realizes there are others who can move during stopped time. Instead of seeming artistic and compelling, Ben takes a turn for the utterly creepy. Moreover, Sharon’s reaction to understanding Ben’s ability and how he uses it seems completely unrealistic, especially for a single woman who was recently sexually harassed.
On the acting front, Cashback is decent. Sean Biggerstaff plays Ben Willis and he is realistic as a man who is perennially left by young women. Biggerstaff plays the intensity of an artist with a compelling physical presence to make one believe he is devoted only to exploring beauty and not violating the women he is constantly undressing.
But more insulting than the necessary suspension of disbelief over Ben not being a complete creeper is how the film goes in exactly the direction that one expects of this type of romantic drama. The plot is so predictable and formulaic that if it was not for the time stopping aspect and the clever incorporation of young exploration of human sexuality, this would be a painfully underwhelming and obvious film.
For other independent films, please visit my reviews of:
Love
Like Crazy
The Way
6.5/10
For other film reviews, please check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing of my movie reviews!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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