Task (HBO) - Review 

Rating: 5 out of 5

HAVING dazzled with Mare of Easttown, Brad Inglesby repeats the trick with Task, another Philadelphia based crime drama that functions as both a great thriller and an emotionally compelling human drama.

Mark Ruffalo heads the cast as recently widowed FBI agent Tom, who is tasked with leading a manhunt for a home invasion crew that’s been targeting local motorcycle gang the Dark Hearts. This is led by garbage collector Robbie (Tom Pelphrey), a similarly struggling father still coming to terms with the death of his brother, also at the hands of one of the Dark Hearts.

The two men are inevitably on a collision course, their lives mirroring each other’s in many ways.

Yet just as he did with the ensemble surrounding Kate Winslet in Mare, Inglesby’s latest offers a rich tapestry of supporting players that make for a richly compelling and complex whole.

On Ruffalo’s side, there’s a family - a biological daughter and an adopted daughter - also struggling to come to terms with the death of their mum at the hands of their adopted son (awaiting sentencing), who was off his meds at the time of the tragedy.

And there’s also Tom’s task force - a young group of recruits, including Anthony (Fabien Frankel), whose questioning detective hides a dark secret that carries widespread ramifications for the subsequent investigation.

There’s also Lizzie (Alison Oliver), a state trooper prone to freezing up in high-pressure situations, and Aleah (Thuso Mbedu), a domestic violence survivor.

On Robbie’s side, meanwhile, there’s his two main accomplices Cliff (Raul Castillo) and Peaches (Owen Teague), as well as his 21-year-old niece Maeve (Emilia Jones), who has blended households after the death of her father, now struggling to jointly raise Robbie’s kids.

Operating under their own agenda, on the other hand, are angry Dark Hearts principals Perry (Jamie McShane) and his volatile protegé Jayson (Sam Keeley), the man responsible for killing Robbie’s brother.

Taken at face value, this is an intense, brooding crime saga that focuses on a cat-and-mouse chase between several on-edge characters, as well as a tale of revenge and redemption.

But there’s so much more going on too. Inglesby, as he did with Mare, offers meditations on loss and grief, the innocence and corruption of childhood, guilt and forgiveness… and faith.

He doesn’t preach, allowing audiences to reach their own conclusions, while still bringing his characters’ journeys to satisfying ends.

Ruffalo’s character, for instance, is a former priest turned FBI agent whose faith has been rocked by life and, most recently, the death of his wife at the hand of his adopted son. He begins the show as a washed up drunk, prone to blackouts, and tormented by his shortcomings as a father.

His family must decide whether to give a statement in support of their son at his sentencing - a decision that goes against the wishes of his birth daughter, but which is causing a dilemma for his adopted daughter.

It’s the type of meaty morality play that Inglesby excels in: a what would you do scenario buoyed by some fantastic conversations and arguments. If there’s perhaps a minor criticism of the show as a whole, it’s that this sub-plot disappears from view for a long period, only coming back strong for the tear-inducing finale (and perhaps short changing the young actor playing the son).

But it is still redeemed by a truly powerful and emotionally devastating courtroom scene in which Ruffalo’s Tom comes to his conclusion. It’s a TV speech for the ages - and one that, at the very least, should thrust him into Emmy contention given the power of its delivery and message.

But Ruffalo also proves a likeably endearing presence throughout - a mentor to his troops, a thoughtful soul searcher who displays an inherent fairness with everyone he interacts with.

It’s also what makes his eventual relationship with Pelphrey’s Robbie so mesmerising: an unlikely bond developing between them as they realise they are both victims, in their own way, of horrible circumstances; the type of which invite the questioning of right and wrong and of faith.

A scene between the two of them late in the series is stunning: superbly acted, emotionally involving and worthy of the type of comparison of De Niro and Pacino’s coming together in Heat.

Ruffalo shares a similarly memorable few scenes with Frankel’a devoutly Catholic colleague, who views his boss as the chance to channel questions of his own faith and - belatedly - guilt (as the informer whose actions contribute to some devastating losses).

It goes without saying that Pelphrey and Frankel shine too - the former a genuinely sympathetic ‘criminal’, prone to bad luck and bad decisions, who is ultimately trying to right the wrongs of his past and do the best for his kids. You’ll find yourself rooting for a happy ending, while all the time fearing the worst.

But even Frankel displays a nice complexity to his belated ‘villain’ - a man also trapped by dreadful turns of fate who finds himself in too deep with the Dark Hearts and forced to make choices that carry unwittingly deadly consequences.

The only real villains of the piece are the Dark Hearts principals themselves - and they carry real menace. But this also gives the show its edge - there’s a genuine sense of uncertainty hanging over the fates of all concerned.

Task is first and foremost a brilliant thriller and character study. But it also delivers on the action when it needs to - a late gunfight in the woods is expertly choreographed to ring out the tension.

But nothing feels cheap or contrived. And while some critics have bemoaned the overall sense of gloom, for me there’s a refreshingly honest and real vibe. Task confronts harsh truths and asks deep, probing questions of both its characters and its audience.

It also offers hope, albeit in bittersweet fashion.

It’s what makes it so involving and such a masterpiece.