The longtime rivalry between brilliant and eccentric inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison remains one of history's fiercest, with their developments of AC and DC currents, respectively, sparking a bitter feud that rocked the late 19th century. Their complex head-to-head is now the subject of director Michael Almereyda's latest film `Tesla,` which stars Ethan Hawke in the title role opposite Kyle MacLachlan as Edison. The film also unpacks other wild aspects of Tesla's life, both personal and professional.

`The film tracks Tesla's uneasy interactions with his fellow inventor Thomas Edison (MacLachlan) and his patron George Westinghouse (Gaffigan),` the synopsis continues. `Another thread traces Tesla's sidewinding courtship of financial titan J.P. Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz), whose daughter Anne (Hewson) takes a more than casual interest in the inventor. Anne analyzes and presents the story as it unfolds, offering a modern voice to this scientific period drama which, like its subject, defies convention.`

Ahead of the film's release from IFC on August 21, and in celebration of Tesla's 164th birthday on July 10, a new trailer for the film has dropped. Check it out below.



Written by Almereyda, who won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize for the film at this year's Sundance Film Festival, `Tesla` also stars Eve Hewson, Jim Gaffigan, Hannah Gross, Josh Hamilton, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Here's the official synopsis: `Brilliant, visionary Nikola Tesla (Hawke) fights an uphill battle to bring his revolutionary electrical system to fruition, then faces thornier challenges with his new system for worldwide wireless energy.`