Patricia Clarkson's cave encounter

Patricia Clarkson is set to meet Leonardo DiCaprio in a cave.

The Vicky Cristina Barcelona actress co-stars with the Revolutionary Road star in Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese.

"I can't really tell you a lot about my character because it's kind of a surprise," Patricia said. "Leonardo DiCaprio encounters me in the film in a cave. I'm the lady in the cave."

Patricia's latest film is indie production Whatever Works, her second straight movie with Woody Allen after Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The star is confident recent troubles in independent cinema due to the financial crisis may not be a bad thing in the long run.

"Making an independent film should always be hard. That's the whole point," Patricia said. "The problem is there's been too much product, and the industry can't support it. There are not enough theatres, there are not enough distributors, there's not enough money. The playing field is leveling.

"When I did High Art back in 1997, I knew like two other people who were doing an independent film. Now everybody does. It was a rare event to get an independent film made, and I'm not saying we want to go completely back to those days, but we have to find the happy medium."