‘Ferrari’: Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz Go at It in Exclusive Clip

On christmas day, Ferrari will roar into theaters. The first film from acclaimed director Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider) since 2015’s Blackhat.

Set in 1957, the drama sees Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) on the brink of professional and personal ruin. His Italian car company is about to face bankruptcy, his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) has had it with his affairs — particularly his second family with Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley) — and he and Laura are still spiraling after the tragic death of his son Dino. So, Enzo and Laura are at each other’s throats. Well, that might be an understatement. The film opens with Laura pointing a gun directly at her husband’s head.

“Both are imprisoned in separate silos of grief over the death of their son, Dino, a year earlier,” Michael Mann tells Rolling Stone. “They’re unable to access each other. When not hostile and furious with each other, they are bonded by a loyalty. They are both deeply bonded to each other and repelled by each other at the same time. A deep human conflict.”

Enzo bets it all on the Mille Miglia, a 1,000-mile race across Italy. And yet, it’s the chemistry between Driver and Cruz that is most electrifying. Each and every scene of theirs (including the one below) features two actors at the top of their game.

“You build the chemistry by your character analysis and by working with the actors ahead of time, not in rehearsals necessarily,” Mann explains of their work. “I want it there when I’m shooting because I’m looking for that spontaneity to maximize during the scene — even on take five, or take six — and not in rehearsals. So, it’s all building up in anticipation of that moment.”

Watch an exclusive clip from Ferrari here:

From Rolling Stone US.