Task

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Mark Ruffalo stars as Tom Brandis in HBO's Task.

Task is an HBOMax original miniseries starring Mark Ruffalo as FBI agent and retired Catholic priest Tom Brandis. A series of home robberies of known drug and gang houses threatens to turn Delaware County, Pennsylvania, into a killing field of gang violence.

Fabien Frankel, Thuso Mbedu, and Alison Oliver are assigned to the task force Ruffalo leads. Tom Pelphrey plays Robbie Prendergrast, a garbage collector who robs "trap houses" operated by drug gangs with his friend Raúl Castillo as Cliff Broward.

Task has the tension and violence of Sons of Anarchy, without the soap opera plot twists. Instead, the story introduces us to this dark underworld through Ruffalo and Pelphrey's humanity, both grieving and trying to save their families in their own ways. The plot moves quickly, and the characters are fully realized and believable.

I loved Ruffalo's portrayal of Bandis as a soft-spoken, damaged husband and father with a heart too big for life's cruelty. Pelphrey's Prendergrast is just as damaged, just as loving, but his rage at life's capriciousness boils over and threatens everything he loves.

The supporting cast is just as realized as the two primary stars and includes Emilia Jones (Maeve Prendergrast), Thuso Mbedu (Aleah Clinton), Alison Oliver (Elizabeth Stover) and Martha Pimpton (Perry Dorazo), to name just a few.

I enjoyed the miniseries very much. Four out of five stars.