Task

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It was good, if even for a short time, to have an HBO Sunday night show back in our lives. One that was on par with the early days of a True Detective. Known stars, some lesser known stars and some stars in the making acting their nards off. Prestige TV that is less spectacle and more character study and deep questions about our humanity. But with some crime drama and a plot that is at once compelling, but also not exactly the point. Seriously professionally made week-to-week television that used to be the stuff that drove water cooler conversations in the old days. Which I suppose is now moved to reddit and podcasts listened to in headphones on the train in our little bubbles. Something that feels like a conversation, but is more like a monologue. We are all broken, but that’s okay. Oh, you thought that was me saying that? No, that’s Task in a nutshell.

Every time I see the word “task” I think Tusk. Which was a Fleetwood Mac album — a band that I really don’t care about, but keep flashing to nonetheless. The human brain is weird. What’s also weird is that this was originally sold as a Philadelphia show. As if it was going to be an urban crime drama filled with grimy streets and classic alleyway chases, decrepit buildings and the claustrophobic feel of the city. But, no, it turns out this thing takes place in the country. Now, I know all these woods and low-slung suburban sprawl in Delaware County (Delco) borders Philly, but it feels worlds away. And we really never exit this world of houses hidden in the trees, highways and byways, lakes and isolated quarries. But, as you’d imagine, there is some rot lurking under all the outward natural beauty. Bikers dealing drugs. Families falling apart. People struggling to make ends meet. It’s certainly not shiny and new. Everything seems to be on its way to being swallowed by their surroundings and being returned to the earth. Which is the talent of the series creator, Brad Ingelsby (who also created Delco classic, Mare of Easttown), in creating a world that feels real and lived-in in a way that something shot in Canada-for-US or a less identifiable location wouldn’t. It’s specific, but also probably pretty universal for a large chunk of the US. Not me, per se, but nobody wants to watch TV about a NYC commuter town with a bunch of people who get on a train every day to go sit at a desk in a giant office building. No, nobody wants that.

I have this mental block about Tom Pelphrey. I can’t be the only one who confuses him with Taylor Kitsch, right? Yes, I realize Kitsch is Canadian and Pelphrey is from Jersey, but they are the same age, have this narrowed-eye, squinty look and often hide their visages behind flowing locks and facial hair. And are often rough-around-the-edges tough guys. Again, I can’t be the only one. But Task stars Pelphrey, who, once again, rocks a lush beard and ponytail. And just the saddest fucking face you’ve ever seen. The dude is a walking emo billboard. But he’s also incredible. Just like he was in American Primeval. Nope, crap, that was Kitsch. Seems like there might be a good drinking game in there somewhere. But, yeah, the first thing anyone who has seen the show would probably mention is the acting. It’s top notch. To the point you start to remember what made Mark Ruffalo Mark Ruffalo. It wasn’t his portrayal of Bruce Banner / The Hulk, though he is good at that, too. No, it was the hangdog, humanism of his breakout role in 2000’s You Can Count on Me. And really brings it here as the widowed former-priest-turned-FBI-agent, Tom Brandis. Which, of course, adds to the confusion with his character’s name being Tom and him acting across from Tom Pelphrey. But, whatever. Anyhow, the point is that up and down the cast — from the “stars” on down — the acting is pretty spectacular. Especially when you consider a large chunk of the cast isn’t even American, but seriously nail the Delco accent (at least to my ear). Man, even Martha Plimpton is terrific as the cranky (but funny) FBI commanding officer, after stinkin’ up the joint in the equally stinky series, Prime Target.

At the heart of the show is a bunch of people in desperate situations all trying to get their shit together. Pelphrey’s character, Robbie, is trying to make a life as a garbageman after his wife just ghosts him, leaving him with two kids and a whole lot of regret. His brother was murdered, and his brother’s 21-year-old daughter, Maeve (Emilia Jones), also lives with him in his dead brother’s house. We find out over time that Robbie’s always been a bit of a wildcard and that his brother probably helped ground him. Without that guidance, he’s now turned to robbing drug houses with his co-worker and best friend, Cliff (Raúl Castillo). Nobody is supposed to get hurt in these robberies, but like every single one of these shows or movies, one job goes horribly awry, people die and Robbie and Cliff find themselves on the wrong end of an evil biker gang, the Dark Hearts. The same biker gang Robbie’s brother used to belong to! Needless to say, things go haywire, there’s a huge bag of drugs and the gang is out for blood. On the other side is the FBI task force, which is led by Ruffalo’s Tom Brandis, to solve who has been knocking off the trap houses and, in the latest robbery, has murdered people and made off with millions of dollars worth of fentanyl and the young son of the house’s dead owner. Thing is, Brandis is a bit of a broken-down agent. Relegated to doing job fairs and low-level recruiting of disinterested students. Not exactly the person you put in charge of a task force you want to get to the bottom of things. The rest of the team is rounded out by seeming misfits from other PA organizations — a county detective, Anthony “DJ” Grasso (Fabien Frankel), a state trooper, Lizzie Stover (Alison Oliver) and a local detective, Aleah Clinton (Thuso Mbedu). It’s unclear from jump if the idea is to actually solve this crime, or just look like they’re doing something. Why else bring Ruffalo off desk duty and throw these damaged randoms at him?

As is Ingelsby’s way, these characters all have larger things going on than getting to the bottom of a bunch of trap house robberies. Brandis has an adoptive son who essentially murdered his wife during a psychotic episode and is sitting in prison ready for sentencing. His drinking has increased to an unhealthy level and his adoptive, high-school-aged daughter has become his de facto caretaker in the wake of his wife’s death, son’s incarceration and his adult biological daughter’s anger toward the whole situation. His life is a mess and he’s going through it. Even the evil biker dudes are having their own issues — besides a giant shipment of drugs vanishing on them and the real need to find it. After all, Robbie and his partners meant to only rob these houses of the cash on hand not come away with the actual drugs moving through. That causes complications for everyone. And, ultimately, everyone is in danger — from the bikers, from the other baddies in the drug chain of command and the issue of being found out by the FBI. Plus, to mention, when Robbie leaves the last trap house, he takes the dead owner’s young son with him. Doesn’t murder him — because he’s a good guy — but literally takes him home with him. Kidnapping is bad and is really why the FBI task force exists. Even if they probably believe the kid is long dead. He’s not, though, he’s just at Robbie’s house playing with his chickens and being babysat by his niece, Maeve. It’s kinda nuts.

The show itself is pretty dialogue heavy. There are some cool set pieces — shootouts in the woods and one especially violent one in the trap house — but it’s really about these complicated people interacting. Especially scenes like those between two of the task team members, Frankel and Alison Oliver, as the English actor and Irish actress chop it up and flirt in the best Delco accents in the series. I will say that it becomes a little obvious over time which characters Ingelsby likes best. Pelphrey’s Robbie character gets a ton of screentime and lots of loving close-ups and some great lines to deliver. Granted, Pelphrey is pretty incredible, so it’s not surprising. Followed closely by Ruffalo, who does have to be the driver of the mystery and investigation, but is given his due in the character development department as well. And, while the story seems to be predominantly about Robbie, there is a turn in the narrative that I didn’t see coming that really thrust Tom into the heart of the tale. And, again, Ruffalo just kills it. There is a scene in the last episode that I was ready to watch through my fingers because it just could have become a cheesefest, but between the writing and Ruffalo’s performance, it’s one of the best I’ve seen in years. The dude just has so much humanity in him — he acts with his voice and his eyes and his whole body without needing to turn on the cringe. It’s really great. The supporting cast is equally as strong, especially Emilia Jones, who is a person I have no experience with, but is yet another Brit who does a great accent, really looks the part and is pitch perfect in her performance as the edge-of-adulthood young woman asked to do things way beyond what a person her age should be asked to do.

I’m going to stop now and tell you to go watch this thing. If you really enjoy great writing, acting and a story that will hold your interest, then this is the perfect TV experience for you. If you get frustrated by characters occasionally doing idiotic, self-sabotaging things, then steel yourself. If you confuse easily when plot points don’t exactly line up 100%, then just be ready to shrug off some of the details. I will say, I do forgive some of the “that would never happen” things I would usually nitpick and even forgive the third time a character tells this kid to “stay in the car” only to have him not stay in the car because the rest of it is so quality. Do I wish some of the biker dudes were fleshed out a little better? Would I want some of their motivations to be a little clearer? Did the whole switching of cell phones and the added drama of the mole within the task unit add some elements that were a little less successful than others? Did the Brandis family dynamic and drama sometimes feel like a bolt-on? All yes. But, again, I will ignore a lot of my questions or general shruggery if the overall experience is as primo as this one. There was some speculation there’s be a second season, despite this being a limited series, but I think it works as a stand-alone and they should leave well enough alone.