Oscars 2017: Every Best Picture Nominee - Ranked From Worst To Best

9. Lion

This is the one movie that feels the most like Oscar bait, although thankfully without coming extremely loud and incredibly close to it.

The first half of the movie focuses on young Saroo, a child who gets separated from his family and has no way of finding them again. With all the action taking place in India, it's on the one-hand a tragic look at what happens to so many of the country's children, with a haunting nature to the story, but has an irresistible charm thanks to the performance of newcomer Sunny Pawar.

The movie falls down a bit in its second half, which switches focus to an adult Saroo (played by Dev Patel) living with his adoptive family in Australia. Things get more muddled as he deals with the weight of finally searching for his old family, and balancing that against his 'new' one (including Rooney Mara as his girlfriend, who is wasted here).

The scenes in India are hugely affecting and even a little unpredictable, before it settles into a more gentle rhythm. The performances of both Punwar and Patel are winning though, and it'll warm your heart.