Six little films that could become Oscar heavyweights

The concept of a late-fall Oscar season is now a thing of the past, with critical darlings muscling their way into the path of summer behemoths. Consider last year’s “The Hurt Locker,” which opened against the blockbuster “Transformers” sequel. Guess which one went on to Oscar acclaim? Here, six films ready for their shot to play cinematic Davids to the Goliaths of the cineplex.

‘Mother and Child’

Annette Bening plays a woman haunted by her decision, at the age of 14, to give her child away for adoption; Naomi Watts is the now-grown child who herself becomes pregnant with her lover (Samuel L. Jackson). Unfolding at different time frames for each character, the script took writer/director Rodrigo Garcia (“Nine Lives”) more than a decade to complete. “When I started writing it, I had only written ‘Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her,’” he says. “And I just didn’t have the chops yet. But I kept coming back to it. This story just clung to me.” (May 7)

‘Solitary Man’

Writing and directing partners David Levien and Brian Koppelman (“Knockaround Guys”) co-direct Koppelman’s script about a car salesman and stubborn Romeo (Michael Douglas) running ruin over his life and those around him. Levien and Koppelman, determined that the cast be star-studded despite the tight budget, were able to entice Susan Sarandon, Mary-Louise Parker, Danny DeVito and Jenna Fischer to join the six-week New York shoot. But Jesse Eisenberg (“The Squid and the Whale”) required them to actually put their money where their mouths were: “He was offered scale, which didn’t cut it,” says Levien. “So we reached into our own pockets and said, ‘How about twice scale?’ ” (May 21)

‘Ondine’

Neil Jordan (“Michael Collins”) returns home to the Southwest coast of Ireland to direct Colin Farrell as a fisherman whose catch of the day is a beautiful woman, snagged from the deep by his net. When his young daughter becomes convinced that the woman (Alicja Bachleda) is a mythical sea creature, the poor fishing village seems to become the setting for a fairy tale. “Between the landscape and the performances, I started to believe myself in the fairy tale aspect,” says Jordan, “but if I had kept it to that, it would have had to end tragically. In a strange way, because the story is finally realistic, I can have a happy ending.” (June 4)

‘Winter’s Bone’

Based on Daniel Woodrell’s novel, Debra Granik’s film about a teenage girl (Jennifer Lawrence) struggling to protect her poverty-stricken family from homelessness in the Ozarks won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance. Granik, a Northeasterner whose first feature, 2004’s “Down to the Bone,” premiered at Sundance, made several research trips to Missouri before filming. During production, the crew relied on a local “fixer” to introduce them to the families who would lend their homes, animals and, occasionally, onscreen talent. “You can’t just show up as an outsider,” says Granik, “but people were mostly very welcoming and we felt very accountable. We were curious about them and they were curious about us.” (June 11)

‘The Kids Are All Right’

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore star as a long-married couple whose teenage children decide to seek out their sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo). Directed and co-written by Lisa Cholodenko (“Laurel Canyon”), the dramedy is an ode to the ferocity — and sense of humor — necessary to keep relationships intact. Says Cholodenko, who thought of the story when she and her partner decided to have their now-4-year-old child, “I love sitting in screenings and hearing that first wave of laughter, when audiences realize, ‘Oh, it’s funny!’ ” (July 7)

‘Get Low’

Robert Duvall is a hermit of three decades who decides to throw his funeral while he’s alive. Co-starring Sissy Spacek as a former girlfriend and Bill Murray as the funeral home director/party planner, “Get Low” mines the mystery of what caused Duvall’s character to originally retreat. Shot in 25 days and then speed-edited by director Aaron Schneider on his home computer to be ready in time for the Toronto Film Festival, “Get Low” impressed even those closest to it: “I was so caught up with editing, eating, sleeping, repeat, that sometimes I would turn on my computer in the morning, see Bill Murray, and say, ‘How cool is that?’ ” (July 30)

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