Cashback

Expanded from filmmaker Sean Ellis’ short film of the same name, Cashback revolves around the exploits of Ben (Sean Biggerstaff) – a morose college student who, following a particularly painful break-up, discovers that he no longer requires sleep to function. After subsequently taking on an overnight job at a local supermarket, Ben is stunned to learn that he also has the power to literally stop time. Right off the bat, Ellis leaves little doubt as to his abilities; the filmmaker has a real eye for effective composition and framing, and infuses the movie with a visual sensibility that’s often unusually striking. The strangely mesmerizing vibe certainly goes a long way towards alleviating the overall lack of plot, and Ellis generally does an effective job of disguising the film’s truncated origins. (There are a few needless sequences, however, with a second-act soccer game the most obvious instance of this.) The inclusion of a genuinely sweet romance between Ben and a coworker proves to be irresistible, and there’s ultimately little doubt that the film heralds the arrival of a fiercely original cinematic presence.

*** out of ****