To keep her kit on or take it off - that's the question that drives Kate Winslet nuts.

The four-times Oscarnominated actress stars in the drama Little Children playing Sarah, a young mother going through an identity crisis in a small American town. Then a man in the shape of actor Patrick Wilson (think of Paul Newman at 30) comes into her life.

"The guilt and the thrill of it and the possibility of what might happen with this man excites her," Kate told me when we met at London's Covent Garden Hotel.

"He's lost all sense of perception and her judgment is all off the wall at this point, and it leads them to this heightened scene of sex and passion." Kate and Patrick engage in a series of full-on sex scenes that are integral to the story.

It's a harsh take on reality in that it deals with adultery, child molesting, vigilantism and other suburban staples that tarnish the American dream.

"All the nudity was in the script and the scenes were so beautifully written, almost poetic, that it's not just about having sex in these chaste, forbidden moments, it's about these two people being emotionally unveiled and unleashed through this physical affair," Kate observed.

But she and director Todd Field, who made In The Bedroom four years ago, discussed in minute detail how she and her leading man would choreograph the scenes.

"Before I read the script I didn't want to do any more sex scenes," Kate told me. "Every time I do a nude scene, I think 'That's it now!' because it's so painful and scary, and I think: 'Why does it keep happening to me?'"

Then she laughed and added, in explanation: "I've had two children, I'm 31 and I can't keep getting away with this - then I find myself doing it all over again and I don't know why.

"But it comes down to being given these incredible opportunities to play these inspiring, challenging roles that just so happen to involve getting your kit off!"

Clearly, there's more to what Kate does in Little Children than disrobing. As director Field noted, she has to go through the whole gamut of emotions, from being almost hysterically funny to completely breaking down, yet also be confident, wise and foolish.

I mentioned in my column from Toronto last month that there's a scene where Kate's character is at a book club meeting, reading from Madame Bovary, and it's as if she's playing a poker game because she has to discuss the book without giving away her innermost feelings.

At this moment in the film, Kate's about the most breathtaking she's ever been. It's one of those performances that will make the Golden Globe, Bafta and Academy Award voters take notice.

It's a shame so much of her role was cut out of All The King's Men. The film's director had nearly a year to play with it and he bungled it. In fact, only Jude Law comes through in the movie. He's having a good year, what with Breaking And Entering.

He and Kate play siblings in the forthcoming romantic comedy The Holiday, and from what I've seen of it Kate scores as highly in comedy as she does in the drama of Little Children, which was showing at the London Film Festival this week and opens next Friday.

Cameron Diaz and Jack Black also star in The Holiday, a glossy studio picture that has proved to be Kate's biggest payday since Titanic.

Kate is taking a year off to spend more time with children Mia and Joe, particularly while husband Sam Mendes is preparing to stage David Hare's new play on Broadway. "I may just end up making packed lunches, but I don't think that will happen," she told me with a conspiratorial wink.

Indeed, there are all those awards ceremonies to prepare for, and they go on till the end of February.