Paramount Pictures has unveiled a new trailer for the highly anticipated stage play adaptation Fences. Directed by Denzel Washington and scripted by playwright August Wilson himself, the film takes place in the 1950s and revolves around an African-American former baseball star who now works as a trash collector, crossing the race barrier to serve as a driver, not just a barrel lifter. Washington and Viola Davis lead the film adaptation, reprising the roles that won them Tony awards on Broadway, and this new trailer is basically a performance showcase for the powerhouse turns from these two phenomenal actors.

Fences was a pretty big question mark coming into this Oscar season given that Washington’s two previous directorial efforts, Antwone Fisher and The Great Debaters, failed to make much of an awards splash. Moreover, save for 2012’s Flight, Washington’s recent acting roles have been much more on the action/genre scale. But Fences screened for critics a few weeks ago and the response was rapturous. Early word is that both Washington and Davis give incredible performances that could very well win them Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress trophies, and the film itself could be a Best Picture player.

Indeed, this new trailer is yet another stirring look at the film that makes the wait for release that much longer. It does look to be very play-like in nature, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing when you have actors like Washington and Davis, not to mention Stephen Henderson, carrying the film—they’re their own kind of “special effects.”

Check out the new Fences trailer below. The film opens in theaters on December 25th.

Here's the official logline for Fences:

 FENCES is directed by Denzel Washington from a screenplay by August Wilson, adapted from Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The film stars Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Jovan Adepo, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, and Saniyya Sidney.  The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington and Todd Black.