<\/p>\n
Relentlessly grim yet ultimately redemptive, befitting a crime drama whose hangdog hero used to be a priest, HBO\u2019s harrowingly suspenseful Task<\/i> (which I kept thinking of as \u201cTsk<\/i>\u201d) tells the parallel stories of two men with deep sorrows.<\/p>\n
FBI agent and former chaplain Tom Brandis (a rumpled and melancholy Mark Ruffalo<\/a>), returning to fieldwork in Philadelphia after a devastating family tragedy, is put in charge of a hastily assembled task force to find the culprit who\u2019s been burglarizing gangland drug houses. His target: Robbie Prendergrast (Ozark<\/i>\u2018s soulful Tom Pelphrey<\/a>), a working-class family man raising his two kids with his long-suffering 21-year-old niece (CODA\u2018s Emilia Jones<\/a>) while pursuing a mission of retribution against a violent motorcycle gang.<\/p>\n They\u2019re both in mourning: Tom for his late wife, also for his mentally unstable adopted son, for whom he can\u2019t bring himself to testify on the boy\u2019s behalf in an upcoming sentencing hearing. (Forgiveness is a recurring theme in this often bleak series.) Robbie grieves for his murdered brother, also for a broken family life after his wife abandoned their kids and him a year ago.<\/p>\n When during their one fateful meeting, Robbie calls Tom \u201cthe world\u2019s most depressing human,\u201d he\u2019s not lying. And yet, with\u00a0Mare of Easttown<\/a> creator Brad Ingelsby<\/a> returning to a rural Pennsylvania setting (replete with thick accents) to tell his violent and bloody fable of flawed men on a collision course, there are moments of aching tenderness and grace amid the brutal mayhem. (Not just because of the motorcycle-gang subplot will viewers be reminded of Sons of Anarchy<\/a> and its fatalistic humanism.)<\/p>\n There\u2019s a strong sense of place and purpose, and memorable characterizations, as Tom assembles his motley team, including Aleah (The Underground Railroad\u2018s Thuso Mbedu<\/a>), a taciturn sharpshooter, cocky organized-crime vet Grosso (the charismatic Fabien Frankel<\/a>), and a green state trooper, Lizzie (Alison Oliver<\/a>), who has a bad habit of freezing at inopportune times. Their FBI boss, who aptly describes herself as an \u201cunrefined old bitch,\u201d is played by the invaluable Martha Plimpton<\/a>, bringing acerbic humor to a show that could really use it.<\/p>\n Using his garbage-truck route as cover for his burglaries, Robbie and his buddy Cliff (Ra\u00fal Castillo<\/a>) put their and others\u2019 lives in jeopardy when, in a twist reminiscent of the recent Apple TV+ drama Dope Thief<\/a>, one of their heists goes chaotically sideways, leaving Robbie harboring a lethal amount of fentanyl as well as an unexpected witness who complicates everyone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a million miles past good ideas,\u201d Robbie confesses as the situation becomes increasingly dire and the body count rises, exposing corruption on both sides of the law. Though it can sometimes feel like a task to keep returning to this downbeat world, Task rewards the viewer with emotional payoffs that are as likely to lift as break the heart.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s still too much for you, we understand. You\u2019re forgiven.<\/p>\n