Wow! Such a good movie.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Pseudo-profundity by and for shallow males who want to think they are deep.

Being traumatized after breaking up with his girlfriend, an apparently normal teenager gains insomnia. As he tries to kill time, he gets a job at a local supermarket where he begins to experience a lot of weird facts about life itself. He's trapped between the boundaries of reality and imagination with the ability to freeze time and thus being able to see the world from a very different perspective.It's a movie which benefits from an unique artistic direction, presenting what initially seems pretty ordinary story, but manages to take it to a complete new level. The whole idea of stopping time is simply astonishing, very well thought and implemented into the film, bringing a lot of spice into an already excellent blend. Speaking of which, the movie is able to combine a very good plot, told in a special way by the main character as the story progresses, a couple of complex and very different characters, much drama and romance into the same place, thus the result is incredible. Besides being captivating and very interesting, besides the affection the main character demands and also receives from the viewer, and also besides the excellent acting, this one manages to be funny in many moments, even hilarious at times, bringing a change of mood whenever it considers it necessary.As you might have guessed by now, I was truly impressed by this movie. It managed to provide some high-quality time with its story, its excellent characters and actors, its impressive artistic and cinematic direction, generating plenty of emotion, drama but also laughter. It seems like a biography but the way it is presented definitely made me fell for it.

College art student Ben Willis (Sean Biggerstaff) is dumped by his first real girlfriend Suzy. He is so devastated that he develops insomnia. With nothing to do during the night and running low on cash, he decides to get a job at an all-night supermarket. It's his way to get Cashback for his useless time. Sharon Pintey (Emilia Fox) is the quiet weary checkout girl. Sean Higgins is his womanizing lifelong friends. He starts playing with time and even freezing it.The constant narration hides the fact that this is a pretty thin story. It is beautifully shot. Much of the talk is about the naked women. They are model good looking and I have no problems with that. If the naked girls and the slick look are taken away, there isn't much else. The romance with Sharon has limited drama. It may have worked as a short but expanding into a full length movie stretched the material a bit thin.

At first glance, Cashback would appear to be a shameless excuse to show skin. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a reason for the nudity - for the most part. This is not the case for most films.The story was well thought-out, it seems, and I was thoroughly engaged. I was also pleasantly surprised with the acting and the cast. I did not expect much so Cashback far exceeded my expectations. There was good character development and I was intrigued by the main character's ability to pause time in his head and appreciate the beauty around him.One of my favorite scenes was the main character staring at spilled peas on the floor and describing its beauty.I usually release an exasperated sigh when I see a live story in a film because it always seems take on. "Every film needs a love story." I hate film formulae. In Cashback, however, the love story did not seem take on, which was another pleasant surprise.I did not like that some of the nudity was presented in a sexual manner, nor did I like the sexual references because I thought it spoiled the artistic value of the rest of the movie. However, it went with the story. Where other characters found it sexual, the main character found beauty in it so there was a stark contrast.I definitely recommend this film. It was a pure delight.