There are filmmakers who utilise longform storytelling in the best way possible, and there are the rest who either needlessly stretch their lacklustre, weightless material or basically sell a three-hour movie as a "series". HBO's Task, streaming on JioHotstar in India, makes a strong argument for why a multi-episode series — especially in a limited format — works wonders for some stories.
Saying Task is about criminals and law enforcement officials wouldn't do justice. It's is the first example of cinematic storytelling I've seen that comes close to what Michael Mann accomplished with Heat. That film had to be told in a little under three hours. Writer-creator Brad Ingelsby and directors Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield have the luxury of seven episodes to weave an incredibly powerful saga around dysfunctional small-town families severely affected by the actions of their kith and kin. There's crime and violence, but familial bonds dictate every little event.
In this era of dwindling attention spans, the biggest challenge for filmmakers is to hook their viewers in the first episode, taking into account the percentage that has lost the ability to make it to the second episode, which could be more activity-laden and gripping than the first. The makers of Task, however, succeed in the first itself, without resorting to spectacle and pyrotechnics. The characters are compelling enough, be it Mark Ruffalo's senior FBI agent, who appears tired but isn't, as he would later reveal, when the time comes for him to take seriously a case of multiple home invasions and robberies orchestrated by the same crew.
Hardcore fans of not just Mann's Heat, but also his other crime classics such as Thief and Collateral, will notice here the same admirable quality of drawing both the "good" and "bad" guys as human beings with problems... lots of them. This is a crime show where not only Ruffalo's character, Tom Brandis, a priest-turned-investigator with a tragic backstory, is dealing with matters beyond his control, but also his superior officer, a woman who tells him that her tenure-extension request has been denied and is being asked to forcibly retire.
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Even the main "villain", played by Tom Pelphrey (Ozark), is not the traditional evil mastermind. This is a recently divorced man who discusses dating apps with his compadre because he believes in sharing his life with someone. His associate, on the other hand, prefers the single life. When he is called a "monk", one cannot help but think of that diner scene in Heat, when Al Pacino asks Robert De Niro a similar question.
The further you get into Task, the more you learn that you're not dealing with just two different groups but several. It's what makes it more exciting. You've no clue where everything is heading and you're so eager to see how everything wraps up. We are dealing with a vast network, with a colourful history that goes back ages, and distinct principles by which these characters abide. The "bad" guys have a strong reason for doing what they do, in the same way that, say, James Caan from Thief does. Every single character has a memorable personality — be it Brandis or his team members, one of whom is dealing with her own share of intruding relationship problems while trying to maintain a strong focus on the task at hand. Their emotions come through loud and clear in many medium shots and occasional close-ups that, at times, run the risk of overwhelming us. But we are thankful that they’re all spared from one-dimensional character development.
This is perfect binge material for those who can absorb the devastating aftermath of high-impact emotion-collisions. For others, who yearn for strong writing and filmmaking like this, but would rather absorb it in intervals, it's suggested to take a pause — not too long, though — between episodes. It's easily the best HBO-backed crime-centric show produced since the first season of True Detective. Is it too early to call it a masterpiece?
Series: Task
Creator: Brad Ingelsby
Directors: Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Rating: 5/5
