In pictures: The contenders for the Best Picture Oscar

THE ARTIST

In a nutshell: A silent movie about the end of the silent movie era.

Scotsman review - “The cleverness of The Artist’s technical achievements begin to take over from the emotional sweep of the narrative, a consequence no doubt of Hazanavicius letting form dictate content rather than the other way about.” ***

Oscar odds: 4-5

THE DESCENDANTS

In a nutshell: In not-so-idyllic Hawaii there is family strife for land baron Matt King after his wife is injured in a boating accident.

Scotsman review - “Though there’s nothing particularly urgent or edgy about Alexander Payne’s first film since Sideways, it almost seems radical for what it allows Clooney to do as an actor: play a somewhat dishevelled 50-year-old man secure in the knowledge that delivering a commanding screen performance doesn’t require big gestures or grandstanding technique.” ****

Oscar odds: 9-1

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE

In a nutshell: An adaptation of the Jonathan Safran Foer novel, in which a boy searches for the lock that matches the key left by his late father, who died in 9/11.

Scotsman review - “After The Hours and The Reader, Stephen Daldry continues his Oscar-baiting, self-important, relentlessly middlebrow literary-based assault on quality cinema with Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, a horribly precious adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s 9/11-themed novel about a whimsical boy’s search for meaning in the aftermath of the World Trade Centre attacks.” *

Oscar odds: 100/1

THE HELP

In a nutshell: Set during the 1960s civil rights movement, an author writes about the perspective of an African-American maid working for a white family.

Scotsman review - “An interesting and provocative story told in a broad, lachrymose fashion, The Help filters the harsh realities of the Civil Rights movement through the experiences of a white protagonist and, in the process, manages to transform a tale of struggle into a feel-good piece of fluff.” **

Oscar odds: 12-1

HUGO

In a nutshell: An orphan who lives in the walls of a train station becomes embroiled in a mystery involving his father and and an automaton, in 1930s Paris.

Scotsman review - “As with many a film that expends a lot of energy commenting on the value of good storytelling, instead of just getting on and telling a good story, Hugo feels oddly lacking in self-awareness. It’s a film that’s easier to like and admire than to love.” ***

Oscar odds: 8-1

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

In a nutshell: An engaged couple are faced with their differeing versions of a perfect life, as Woody Allen sets his latest rom-com in the French capital.

Scotsman review - “Though Midnight in Paris lives in the past a little itself, Allen isn’t slavishly trying to reclaim some golden age of creativity, nor he charging ahead with barely a reference to his illustrious past: this is Allen nodding to his back-catalogue, trying something new and moving on. Long-suffering fans would do well to do the same.” ****

Oscar odds: 100/1

MONEYBALL

In a nutshell: The story of an American baseball team who rise to success thanks to statistical analysis.

Scotsman review - “With Moneyball, director Bennett Miller, writers Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian and star Brad Pitt have managed to do that rare thing: make an exhilarating baseball movie that that requires no real love of the game, thanks largely to its ability tap instead into what sport says about America.” *****

Oscar odds: 100/1

THE TREE OF LIFE

In a nutshell: An epic depiction of family life in the 1950s, and a boy who witnesses the loss of innocence.

Scotsman review - “Love The Tree of Life or loathe it, it is impossible to fault Malick’s ambition and not to admire a man who is making big, personal, non-genre films at a time when many filmmakers are playing it safe.” ****

Oscar odds: 100/1

WAR HORSE

In a nutshell: One man and his horse’s adventures in World War One.

Scotsman review - “in choosing to tell the story straight, there’s really no way to disguise its silliness on the big screen – except, that is, by cranking up the melodrama, layering on the sentimentality, exploiting its epic sweep and hoping that the resulting false sense of they-don’t-make-them-like-that-anymore nostalgia will act like blinkers.” **

Oscar odds: 50/1