Cashback (2007)

Too much of everything

Thanks for the memories!

It is a performances centric movie

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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.

I still can't believe that such a good movie don't have a good trailer on youtube. Try to show to friends "a great movie that I've seen few years ago" went horribly wrong. Nobody wanted to watch it based on trailer.Yet, the movie influenced me a lot. I remember that at the beginning I've been thinking that it's just another comedy based in supermarket. Then, gradually my perception of the movie changed. At the end I was really impressed in favor of the piece.I am looking forward to watch it again but with some proper audience at my side.

After 13 years as a member on this site, I realized my profile was never complete because I had never written a review. I had to pick a film, but which one. After a little deliberation, I chose "Cashback" due to the way it lit me up emotionally when I saw it in 2007, eight years ago. I remember constantly walking through the video store and always seeing a single copy of the movie in the new release section. The cover intrigued me for obvious reasons, but when I finally read that it was based on the Academy Award short of the same name, I grabbed it. The story has been reviewed on here over and over. I was a film graduate but still loved a good popcorn movie,meaning I'm not a snob. This film perfectly straddled the line of indecent film, straight forward comedy, and a surprisingly touching love story. This film will amuse any indie lover yet satisfy the film nerds as well, especially when you watch the short before or after (won't affect your viewing of the feature length). It's a great study on how to turn a great, 20-minute short into a 90 minute feature film without losing the spirit and humor of the original, especially by not recasting, retouching, but rather expanding on a universe that for once needed expanding upon. And for any insomniac like myself, this film may help you sleep a little bit better, seriously. I didn't feel so bad being up at all hours, especially in college! A great, quick watch. All my friends I have passed this onto have loved it.

and I'm glad I didn't. This film is too deep to take away any true meaning from it in a short.At first glance of the Cover Art, I almost turned away because gratuitous nudity was not what I was seeking. I'm just happy that I did not judge the film itself solely on the Cover.Even though I am a Man... I am a Romantic and have always been. I appreciate films that explore the intricacies of the relationships between Men and Women, especially those which delve into the emotions, pain, sorry and happiness experienced by each.While I was initially put off by his undressing the women in the store unknowingly, I had to remind myself that this was merely a fantasy and had more to do with his boredom and Artistic side.The Childish antics of his fellow employees weren't amusing to me however, they also had their purpose in the story and did not take away from it for me.His love for Sharon and how he expressed it through his art was quite touching and a fitting direction for the film to it's conclusion, which was quite touching.Yes, I enjoyed the film... so much so, that I watched it two evenings in a row.