“Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” wasn’t supposed to be Bassam Tariq and Mahershala Ali’s first collaboration together. In 2021, Tariq (advertising ‘08) was hired to direct the highly anticipated superhero movie “Blade” starring Ali, but due to longstanding production issues and creative differences with Marvel Studios, Tariq walked away. A few years later, Tariq wrote and directed a film based on his own personal experience as a Muslim, reuniting with Ali for one of the best original films of the year.
Ali plays Latif, a newly widowed father of three, who finds himself struggling to balance his duties as a father while maintaining his secret occupation as an assassin, leaving little time for his Muslim faith. Ali, an experienced two-time Oscar winner, gives a brilliant performance as a man trying his best to maintain a calm and quiet exterior while carrying deep emotional wounds.
The film portrays Muslim faith, a rarity among Hollywood films, where Muslims face severe underrepresentation. Tariq seeks to ask the question of whether, in this day and age, the world has become too complex for religion. In the film, Latif constantly calls others out for making religious compromises, but refuses to acknowledge the contradictions in trying to be a righteous hitman.
The film’s conflict escalates when Latif takes extreme measures to secure breast milk for his newborn daughter, which eventually lands him in the midst of a religious war between a Muslim influencer who makes haram pornography and a group of Christian extremists led by Pastor Hwan Yoon.
Pastor Yoon, played by John Cho (“Harold and Kumar”), serves as a mirror to Latif on the perils of self-appointed religious service. Cho gives a terrifying, yet charismatic performance where he makes a believable case that his character would be able to lead a group of devoted religious crusaders.
The film balances its dark tone with Latif’s wholesome relationship with his children, Fatiha and Qadir, who provide a humorous aspect to the film that shows some levity and reveals Latif’s empathetic side.
The film features brutal, well-choreographed depictions of violence that don’t shy away from the effects Latif’s work has on himself and the people he cares about. The film carries a grimy, but also vibrant look that utilizes dramatic lighting that is at some points hyper-stylized, but also very tangible, portraying the city of Houston as a distinct character of its own.
The film carries a dramatic ending that fully embraces its religious themes, effectively juxtaposing Yoon and Latif’s arcs as Latif reckons with questions about whether his motivations are right or selfish, while Yoon has fully committed himself to be a warrior of God.
The film doesn’t depend on the viewer’s faith to be entertaining. It provides a deeply moving and enthralling experience on the back of Ali’s performance alone, as well as a sincere reflection on the beauty and hardship of single parenthood, and a confrontation with whether or not one can fully embrace faith, even amidst an unbearable burden.
4 ½ Swords out of 5
