Task review: Brad Ingelsby's crime drama is one of the year's best, with Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey in excellent form

After Mare of Easttown, Brad Ingelsby returns to rural Pennsylvania to cast a crime drama about an FBI agent and a family man leading a string of robberies.

Task web series review

Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey, Emilia Jones, Martha Plimpton, Alison Oliver, Fabien Frankel, Thuso Mbedu, Raul Castillo, Silvia Dionicio

Creator: Brad Inglesby

Star rating: ★★★★1/2

If Brad Inglesby's Mare of Easttown was about grief-stricken mothers, then his follow-up with Task is about fathers and the burden of responsibilities and guilt that they carry. This is not a drill. Inglesby's new HBO show is undoubtedly a riveting step forward, boasting stunning writing and excellent performances from an ensemble cast. Comprising 7 episodes, Task is a crime drama that is never a mystery. In place of intrigue, there is a deep compassion for both parties involved in the chase. This is what sets Task apart, Inglesby is interested in people and their reasons, fears and wrongs- never manipulating one side of the story to prioritise the other. It slowly but surely sneaks up on you with its extraordinary power.

Mark Ruffalo plays an FBI agent in Task, available to watch on JioHotstar.

The premise

The first episode sets up the drama in the Philadelphia suburb, introducing both sides involved and giving the viewer a choice on whom to worry about most. On one end, there is FBI agent, Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo), who spends his days at the university career fair aimlessly sharing brochures on why one must join the FBI. For garbage collector Robbie (Tom Pelphrey), his job, along with that of his best friend, Cliff (Raúl Castillo), gives him the opportunity to seize what they have been disposing of, which prepares the duo to rob the same houses at night.

Robbie's sister Maeve (a heartbreaking turn from CODA star Emilia Jones) is unaware of this and has taken on more responsibilities of the household than she had asked for. Meanwhile, Tom is assigned a three-member task force to investigate the series of home invasions. This includes Lizzie (Alison Oliver), Aleah (Thuso Mbedu) and Anthony (Fabien Frankel). When one robbery goes horribly wrong, with a member of The Dark Hearts biker gang facing the violent consequences, Tom and his task force are given a few days' time to settle this case.

As the cat and mouse chase begins, the show co-directed by Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield expands to include more characters, interpersonal relationships from the past and cliffhangers. There are resentments, abrupt deaths, and heartbreaking resolutions, all mesmerisingly wound up to churn out a moral tale of our incessant need to protect our kin. Inglesby's writing counts even the smallest of supporting turns in the cast, weaving a rich tapestry of characters into the bleak undebelly of crime and violence.

What works

Tom and Robbie might seem to be at the opposite end of the specturm, but they are inherently tied up within their own brutal fates. Episode 6 in particular is the standout. Astonishingly written and shot by Alex Disenhof and Elie Smolkin, the hour-long title provides a much-needed culmination of sorts between two ends and a heartbreaking thread of connection of shared parental anguish.

Task powers through the performances of its ensemble cast, with Castillo and Oliver being standouts. Tom Pelphrey has always been good, and this might just be the performance of his career. The way he embodies Robbie's submission to grief and regret in the later episodes is heartbreaking to watch. His flinty presence is matched well with the subdued energy that Mark Ruffalo brings to Brandis. He carves out the deep-seated emotional complexities in his priest turned FBI agent steadily, underplaying the emotions and conveying so much through the hard-beaten physicality.

Task is bleak and crushingly sad at times, but it is also ultimately rewarding. Inglesby wants you to be patient with these people. He wants you to stand close, and watch, carefully and unobstrusively. Let them find a way, let them lose, let them see what they have done. Like the very best works, Task holds us close and lets us see the world anew with residues of hope. It is one of the year's very best shows, one that lingers long after it is over.