“Drive” is not the movie it’s marketed to be, nor is it the movie you’d expect it to be.

Staring Ryan Gosling, and earning glowing reviews since it premiered at Cannes Film Festival, it would be easy to assume that “Drive” is a crowd-pleasing action film.

However, “Drive” is a slow-burn, art-house flick run on subtlety, unique style and white-knuckled outbursts of violence.

Gosling plays an unnamed man who lives in L.A. He works for Shannon (Bryan Cranston) doing dangerous Hollywood driving stunts by day and working as a wheelman for heists by night.

“Driver” gets caught up in a complicated plot sparked by a friendship with his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son (Kaden Leos). Gosling’s character agrees to work with Irene’s ex-con of a husband (Oscar Issac) in order to get the family out of debt.

When the deal goes bad, Driver has to defend Irene and her son from dangerous mobsters Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks) and Nino (Ron Perlman).

The biggest draw of “Drive” is the character-driven aspect. Gosling’s Driver is not a good guy. At times he can seem borderline psychopathic. He cares about little other than adrenaline rushes, and is prone to furious explosions. Gosling’s performance is built around smirks and stares but it’s

commanding nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Driver’s limited-dialogue lifestyle simply isn’t interesting until the second act, and in comparison, the rest of the story is pretty weak.  The setup that Driver’s on the run from criminals falls apart once you realize he’s hiding from them in plain sight.

The director, Nicolas Winding Refn, is the real star of the film. A Danish director, Refn brings his own unique style to the film, from the amazing techno soundtrack to the pink-neon credits.

“Drive” is not for everyone. Its near-glacial first half will turn many people off and the massive amounts of gore will disturb others. It’s no masterpiece but when it works, it’s tense, brutal and beautifully put together.