Sandra Bullock & Her Sweet Son Louis

Actress Sandra Bullock was back on the school run yesterday, picking up her son Louis in Los Angeles, California (February 14). The Oscar-winner gave her smiling son a lift as they headed back to the car.

A very hands-on mom in real life, Sandra tackles a different sort of motherhood in her latest film Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close. She recently opened up about the challenging role:

I've played mothers often. A lot, actually. But this mother's very complex. She's in the process of grieving too, so she doesn't have much energy to fight for that connection she so desperately wants with him. She doesn't seem nurturing - or any of the things you would want a mother to be at the moment a child really needs her."

That was hard, but also what I liked so much about it. It seemed more real. We've seen mums depicted in films - usually it's very squeaky and she takes care of everything, when in fact, life is messy and hard. That's what makes their relationship so powerful - it's not perfect."

Co-starring Tom Hanks, Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close has been nominated in the Best Picture category at this year's Academy Awards.