A bald, overweight Matthew McConaughey has an amazing performance in the 'Gold' trailer

Matthew McConaughey gained 40 pounds and a receding hairline for his upcoming film "Gold," and from the looks of the movie's first trailer, the transformation has made for an incredible performance.

The TWC-Dimension film stars McConaughey, Bryce Dallas Howard ("Jurassic World"), and Edgar Ramirez ("Point Break"). It's the first directorial effort from Stephen Gaghan since the release of his Oscar-winning film "Syriana" in 2005. (In case you forgot, George Clooney won the Oscar for best supporting actor in that film, for which he also put on some weight.)

Based on the true story of the Bre-X mining scandal, "Gold" finds McConaughey playing a businessman who makes the largest gold find in history in the tiger-filled jungles of Borneo. 

Here is the film's official synopsis:

"GOLD is the epic tale of one man's pursuit of the American dream, to discover gold.  Starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey as Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, he teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on an amazing journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.   Getting the gold was hard, but keeping it would be even harder, sparking an adventure through the most powerful boardrooms of Wall Street."

The film is set to premiere on December 25. 

Watch the trailer below: