Task is another in a long line of FBI or law enforcement investigative series on streaming services in recent years. This time around, it’s on HBO Max and stars Mark Ruffalo in the lead role. These kinds of true events type stories are the norm these days because they can be made into short mini-series 6 or 8 parts. A long, drawn-out show isn’t necessary anymore. The writers and directors can get to the point of the story very quickly instead of making the story much longer. I like that sort of storytelling and the direction that goes hand in hand with it. This show works for those reasons and many more.

Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) is a single father and FBI special agent with a group of mixed-race kids. Some Black some white. His wife had passed away in recent years. He’s not doing great as far as his mental state. He is assigned a task force in rural Pennsylvania, Delaware County, to investigate a series of drug related robberies. A group of men wearing masks disguised as garbage truck men scope out and rob random houses. It turns out they are drug houses with money in them as well. There is a local skin head gang that’s involved in the story as well. 

This series has multiple layers to it. It has the task force, and it has the guys who robbed the drug houses, but it also has an underlying layer of family and resentment.  The Dark Hearts is a white supremacist biker gang, and they have a lot of leadership issues and squabbles within their community. When a few members of their group go solo to make some money for themselves, it causes turmoil within the organization. With Ruffalo’s characters’ own resentments regarding his family, he also has issues. That’s where the multiple layers of story come in. Deep down, all the characters have different things they’re dealing with.

Regarding one of the technical parts of the series. In episode six, there is a terrific dichotomy involving editing. There are two different things going on at the same time. Episode six starts where episode five ends with a standoff between the two characters played by Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey. This leads to a big chase sequence in the woods of one of the parks in the Pocono Mountains. This chase sequence is divided into two parts. Each part is edited exceptionally well. The back and forth between the characters and their motivations is captured so well. Editing has played a big part in this show ever since the beginning, but this episode in particular is the prime example of how good it is. 

Besides Ruffalo, there is a decent cast in this show. The cast of good guys besides him is filled out with some newcomers Fabirn Frankel, Thus Mbedu, Allison Oliver and Martha Plimpton are members of the Task force or FBI agents that are in contact with them.They all do a good job complementing each other throughout the show. Each of the characters has their own backstory that is touched upon in the 7 episode series. That’s a hard thing to do considering what is going on in this series. The writers get quite a bit of character development in a show. It helped me care more about their welfare and what they were involved in within the context of the series. 

The same goes for the actors who played the bad guys. Besides Pelphrey, there is Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Raul Castillo, Margaritas Levieva, and Emilia Jones, who turn on her brother because of the children she ended caring for. These people are the members of the Black Hearts gang, but they are also family to each other. That causes trouble for them because they all have different ideas on what to do. Some want the drugs so they can make money, and the others think the drugs will put a target on them if they sell them. It’s a catch twenty-two. This is part of why this group of cast members is so good. 

Besides the main storyline involving these two groups of people, the FBI Task Force and the Black Hearts gang, there is also a traitor in the middle of these two groups. The traitor isn’t divulged until later in the series, but this person plays an integral part in the overall narrative. They have to be very careful in how they give and receive information. Ruffalo’s character is the lead in the series, but he has to figure out who the traitor is. This person can hurt the investigation and cause everything to fall apart for both sides of this. The writers once again do a good job of keeping the viewers in the lurch until it’s time to let the cat out of the bag. This was a good addition to the story. 

Another one of the fantastic technical aspects of the show is that of the cinematography. The series starts out in cold weather but ends up in a warmer climate. The Pocono Mountains, Wisahican Park, and Bailey Park are two places that the show goes besides the rural city-scapes. The cinematography captures the beauty of midwest Pennsylvania exceptionally well. The greens of the trees and the trickle of sunlight on the streams and rivers are captured so beautifully well. They are a dichotomy to the greys and whites of the snow and dirtiness of the cities.  The cinematography is like a juxtaposition to the story in a way. 

Task is a well written series created by Ben Inglesby, also the creator of Mare of Eastown. It has various subplots that deal with family/fatherhood tension, moral ambiguity, and complex themes of justice. The characters on both sides of this scenario have a hard time dealing with everything going on.There is quite a bit of tension in these few episodes. The cast is stacked with fantastic performances from some known and other unknown actors. Once again, Ruffalo gives a fantastic layered performance. This series is similar to a lot of other shows out there these days, but it has an interesting story. The backdrop of Pennsylvania adds another layer of story to what is already here. Inglesby knows this part of the country. He gives these characters a realistic depth and gravitas. That’s what’s so good about this show: the characters are grounded in a real Pennsylvania world. 

7/7 episodes of Task have been reviewed and are currently streaming on HBO Max

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen