2006 feature film
Ben, an aspiring artist, develops insomnia after a painful breakup with his girlfriend, Suzy. To take his mind off of Suzy and to deal with the extra hours he has recently gained, Ben begins working at a local Sainsbury's supermarket, where he meets colourful co-workers. Among them is his colleague Sharon, on whom he quickly develops a crush.
As his personal means to escape the boredom inherent in the night shift, Ben lets his imagination run wild. In particular, he imagines that he can stop time so that he can walk around in a world that is "frozen" like the pause of a film. He imagines female patrons of the supermarket stopped in time, allowing him to undress and draw them. Finally the ability to stop time becomes real.
A series of flashbacks occur with each progression of the plot, accompanied by Ben's narration and an examination of the effect the situation had had upon him. He explains how he always has been impressed by the beauty of the female body: how he, as a young boy, witnessed a Swedish boarder (played by Hayley-Marie Coppin) walk naked as she was coming from the shower to her room. (We are told that, being Swedish, she did not believe this situation required modesty.) Another flashback presents the young Ben and his best friend Sean Higgins sharing Sean's discovery of his parents' adult magazines as well as Sean paying a neighbourhood girl fifty pence to show him her genitals.
Ben's boss recruits the staff for a weekend football game and, after an embarrassing defeat, Ben freezes time again, this time he discovers that he is not alone when he sees a mysterious stranger who is able to move inside the frozen world as he can.
When Ben's boss, Jenkins, throws a party to honour his own birthday and as a consolation for the loss at soccer, Sharon asks Ben to be her date, to which he readily agrees. While there, Ben is stunned to encounter his ex-girlfriend Suzy, who manages to catch Ben alone; she implores him to try their relationship again. Ben refuses her advance; but, as he is rebuffing her offer, she kisses him as Sharon witnesses from afar. Having only seen this part of the interaction and unaware of the circumstances surrounding it, Sharon becomes angry and promptly leaves the party. Ben realizes Sharon has seen the kiss, and he seeks to explain the events to her back at her apartment. There he experiences a confrontation similar to the breakup seen in the beginning of the film. He believes that his mistake cannot be corrected, and that, though he can stop time, he cannot reverse it. Sharon henceforth does not show up to work at the supermarket.
As a practical joke, colleagues Barry and Matt phone Ben, and Matt pretends to be an art gallery owner who has seen some of and is interested in Ben's drawings and schedules an appointment at which Ben can present more drawings for evaluation. When Ben arrives at the gallery and speaks to the owner, he instantly discovers he's been had. As Ben is about to leave in defeat, the gallery owner sees Ben's work and becomes interested and decides to hold an exhibition showcasing Ben's drawings.
Sharon receives an invitation to the exhibition and visits it. Walking through the gallery, she realizes that Ben has portrayed her in many of the pieces. Understanding Ben's feelings for her, she is no longer angry with him. The finale occurs as Ben shares his ability to stop time with her, and the two are no longer under the grip of time, but free to be together in between the moments.
