Brie Larson has emerged as a strong front runner for best actress in this year's Oscars after her star making turn in director Lenny Abrahamson's Room.

The film, which is based on Irish author Emma Donoghue's best-selling novel of the same name, tells the story of Ma; a young woman abducted at age 17 who is held captive in a room for 24 years and forced to bear her kidnapper's children. The narrative explores the relationship between Ma and her 5-year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay).

The unsettling source material forced Larson to go into intense physical and psychological preparation for the role. People magazine reports that the 26-year old actress tried her best to mimic the character's bodily state, depriving herself of sunlight and cutting her body fat down to just 12%. She also studied the effects of sexual abuse on its victims.

Her efforts seems to have paid off, with critics raving about her work in the film. Deadline's Pete Hammond writes:

Larson, in a very complex and difficult role, is sublime and her relationship with Tremblay is touching indeed. Tremblay gives one of the great juvenile performances I have seen, but it isn't fair to single him out as just a kid actor; this is something on the level of any actor of any age this year.             

While Time Out's David Ehrlich says:

'... Larson's ability to articulate the excruciating limbo of being suspended between two generations is a thing to behold. Feral and maternal (often at the same time), she inextricably knots the petulance of being a child with the responsibility of raising one.' 

An Oscar nod for Larson would mark the first in her career. She gained considerable award buzz in 2013 for her work in Short Term 12.