Dave Nemetz Reviews Task: HBO Delivers Another Beautifully Tragic Crime Drama From Mare Of Easttown's Creator
Brad Ingelsby has found his niche. After giving us Kate Winslet as a tough Pennsylvania cop in HBO's Mare of Easttown a few years back, Ingelsby is going back to the well again with Task, a new HBO crime drama set in the same Pennsylvania backwoods and hitting a lot of the same emotional notes Mare did. The formula works, too: Task — premiering Sunday, Sept. 7 at 9/8c; I've seen five of the seven episodes — is a riveting, emotionally intricate saga that fleshes out both sides of the law equally and is packed with powerhouse performances, with a potent vein of raw humanity running through the whole thing.
Mark Ruffalo stars as veteran FBI agent Tom Brandis, who's assigned to lead a task force to catch a gang of low-level crooks who've been putting on Halloween masks and ripping off local drug dealers, in a scheme reminiscent of Apple TV+'s recent Dope Thief. Leading that gang is hotheaded Robbie, played by Ozark's Tom Pelphrey, and when his best-laid plans go wrong, Task shows us the cascading collateral damage that can stem from a single mistake — and the ripple effect can be overwhelming.
There's no real mystery for us to solve here: We know who did the crime, and why. But we're invested anyway, because Ingelsby's writing gets us emotionally involved by humanizing both the cops and the criminals. Robbie and his crew aren't pure evil — Pelphrey shows us a tender side to Robbie in scenes with his fractured family — and Tom and the cops sure aren't perfect, either, willing to bend the rules for the greater good. Like the De Niro-Pacino classic Heat, as cop and crook head towards their inevitable showdown, we're not even sure which side we're rooting for.
Told across seven hour-long episodes, Task takes its sweet time getting to know its characters, and as with Mare, Ingelsby's patience and keen observation skills elevate this several notches above the standard TV crime drama. Characters are given room to breathe and joke around, and every scene feels lived-in and grounded. (Ingelsby obviously knows eastern Pennsylvania like the back of his hand, setting Task in leafy enclaves and smoky bars with Springsteen on the jukebox.) But Task also delivers on the action front, just like Mare did, with nail-bitingly tense scenes that slowly ratchet up the tension to suffocating levels.
It's on a psychological level, though, that Task really shines, with its characters carrying around heavy parcels of buried trauma that aren't buried very well. (Everyone is struggling on some level; some have just gotten good at hiding it.) Tom has a horrific event in his past that he's still processing, mostly by downing big plastic cups of vodka every night, and Robbie still hasn't come to terms with a loss in his own life, which leads to him making rash decisions in the present. It's that kind of complexity that makes Task a fascinating watch — and sets it up as a prime acting showcase.
To that end, Task boasts quality actors up and down the call sheet, with intense performances across the board. Ruffalo is poignantly haunted as Tom, and Pelphrey is flat-out extraordinary, channeling Robbie's pain into something heart-wrenching and beautiful. (When Tom and Robbie's paths finally do cross, it's electric.) Alison Oliver is another standout as state trooper Lizzie, as is Emilia Jones as Robbie's niece Maeve, and hearing the distinctive Delco accent ("wooter ice"!) from a cast of mostly British and Irish actors is a treat. The sinister Dark Hearts motorcycle gang can be a little one-note, but Jamie McShane flashes frightening menace as gang leader Perry.
With all this psychological trauma and bloodshed, Task can be a touch on the grim side, although there are some slices of natural comedy to be found in the quieter scenes. It sags a bit in the middle, too, bogged down by flashbacks and a late twist that feels like maybe one wrinkle too many, but it rallies for a truly thrilling climax. It's a satisfying, cinematic piece of storytelling that lingers long after you've watched it, and it nobly carries on the grand legacy of HBO's vaunted Sunday night dramas. In a rapidly changing TV landscape, it's nice to know that HBO continues to deliver the goods on Sunday nights — and Task is very good indeed.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: Mare of Easttown's creator has crafted another riveting HBO crime drama in Task, packed with emotional complexity and powerhouse performances.