“Task”: Cop and Gangster Hunt for Forgiveness and Redemption

Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey are perfectly cast as adversaries in “Task,” one of the best police series of recent years, according to Der Standard’s review. The HBO drama follows a cop and a gangster on a search for forgiveness and redemption, and the review says it gets under the skin.

Ruffalo plays Tom Brandis, a former priest who is now an FBI agent. He does not look much like the conventional law-enforcement hero. Instead of a strictly groomed short haircut, he has a gray-flecked, unruly mop of hair. Instead of a black suit, he wears worn chinos and a button-down shirt.

Brandis also lacks the sculpted physique usually associated with screen agents. He has a soft stomach, and each morning he tries to shake off a hangover by plunging his head into a kitchen sink filled with ice cubes.