Kate Winslet believed that the small set they used helped them to develop their character's strained relationship. Hailing Winslet as "the best English-speaking film actress of her generation", David Edelstein of "New York" magazine wrote that "there isn't a banal moment in Winslet's performance—not a gesture, not a word". To avoid a scheduling conflict with "Revolutionary Road", Winslet turned down an offer to star in "The Reader". After her replacement Nicole Kidman left the project due to her pregnancy, Winslet was signed to it. Directed by Stephen Daldry, "The Reader" is based on Bernhard Schlink's novel "Der Vorleser" and is about Hanna
Kate Winslet starring Michael Fassbender in the title role, is told in three acts, each depicting a key milestone in Jobs' career. In preparation, Winslet spent time with Hoffman, and worked with a dialect coach to adopt Hoffman's accent, a mixture of Armenian and Polish, which she considered to be the hardest one of her career. The cast rehearsed each act like a play and filmed it in sequence. Winslet collaborated closely with Fassbender, and their off-screen relationship mirrored the collegial dynamic between Jobs and Hoffman. The film received some of the best reviews of Winslet's career but was a box office