Elvis Martini (Nickola Shreli) is in deep-shit. The courts are threatening to foreclose his apartment block, most of his tenants refuse to pay their rent, his wife died in an insurance scam gone wrong (he set fire to a building not knowing that she was still inside). and he had to take his daughter out of school because he owes money for her education. As if all that ain’t bad enough, he also owes an Albanian loan-shark $10.000.
The courts grant him some time and he has 4 weeks come up with at least half of the money that he owes.
He starts by forcing his tenants to cough-up the cash that they owe. When they refuse to pay he decides to get forceful and starts to evict them.
He changes the locks on a call girl’s apartment who owes a few months back-rent. When he is clearing out her stuff, he finds a hidden stash of cash and sees an easy way of repaying some of his debt. So without further hesitation he steals the cash…..does anything good ever come from anyone finding a bag of cash in a movie???, NOPE!
Not long after, he gets a call from someone who wants into the call girl’s apartment to retrieve something that was left there.
This is when things get serious, he has just fucked with the wrong people, a crazy Albanian dog-fighting gang.They then kidnap his daughter and Elvis must do everything in his power to repay the cash that he stole. More importantly, save his daughter from getting ripped to shreds by blood-thirsty pit-bulls.
Cash Only was also written by its star Nickola Shreli. Shreili is from Detroit, and was a landlord in an apartment building. I am sure the story he wrote is based on real-life experiences, with added fiction to get the blood pumping.
The Detroit backdrop plays a huge part in the film Shreili wrote a very believable story, with believable characters, and a believable concept. The film is also supported by a full Albanian-American cast. which is another positive thing about the movie. I am sick to the teeth of watching films that are not in their native tongue. Cash Only offers the best of both worlds with both English and Albanian (with English subs)
If these guys had unlimited resources, it’s frightening to think of the calibre of film they could produce. For a low-budget feature, Cash Only packs more of a punch most thrillers out there.
