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Woody Allen is returning to Cannes next month with his 46th directorial effort, “Irrational Man.” It's Allen's second collaboration with his latest lady muse, Emma Stone, and his first with the always mercurial, but talented Joaquin Phoenix.  Based on the trailer released today, “Irrational” appears to center on a “radical” philosophy professor, Abe Lucas (Phoenix), and the relationships he develops with a younger student (Emma Stone) and another professor (Parker Posey). Oh, and he might be going through some sort of mid-life crisis.  It's all pretty much expected from Allen at this stage of his career, except for one tiny element, a substantial role for the one and only Ms. Posey.

The darling of the independent film world for a good portion of the '90s, Posey hasn't had a substantial film role since her Independent Spirit Award nominated performance in 2007's “Broken English.” Instead, she's found critical acclaim for her recurring roles on shows such as “Louie,” “The Good Wife” and “The Big C.”   While she's recently joined the cast of BYU TV's “Granite Flats,” it looks like “Irrational” might finally provide Posey with some quality big screen material.  Considering some of the horrible misfires she's had over the past five years (we're looking at you “The Love Guide” and “Price Check”) we've got to believe Allen's latest can't be any worse (yes, we're going to try and forget about “Magic in the Moonlight” as well).

Check out the new trailer embedded at the top of this post.  Should we be excited for Allen's new flick?

“Irrational Man” opens in limited release on July 17.