From TIME · Stephanie Zacharek · · 1m 50s
Ali finds grace in faith and fatherhood
Mahershala Ali plays a hit man grappling with rage at God while raising three children alone in Bassam Tariq's audacious action thriller.
In brief
Mahershala Ali plays a hit man grappling with rage at God while raising three children alone in Bassam Tariq's audacious action thriller. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother uses action and absurdity to explore how faith survives doubt, anchored by Ali's performance as a man learning to balance violence with…
A hit man's crisis of faith
In Houston, Mahershala Ali plays Latif, a devout Muslim assassin. When his wife dies suddenly, he's left raising three children alone and raging at God.
“You take her from me and you expect me to bow down to you?”
A desperate search for milk
Latif's infant daughter Aziza will only drink her mother's breast milk. As supplies run out, finding more becomes as urgent as his violent work.
A job from his boss Mike
Latif's longtime boss Mike asks him to handle a problem: Mike's nephew Hatty, a porn producer, is being harassed by a Christian pastor named Hwan Yoon.
An unlikely source of help
Latif finds Fugazi, a sex worker from Hatty's past, who is lactating and has breast milk to spare. His spiritual and violent worlds collide with the surreal.
Action with a baby strapped on
Director Bassam Tariq crafts sharp fight sequences where Ali's Latif carries his infant daughter while battling enemies. He becomes a new kind of action hero.
Doubt as part of faith
Latif's teenage daughter Fatiha breaks her fast and crushes on a Mormon neighbor. The film suggests doubt and faith are inseparable, not contradictory.
The title's Islamic teaching
The film's title comes from a hadith where the Prophet Muhammad repeats "Your mother" three times when asked who deserves the best of us.
“Your mother”
Ali balances swagger with tenderness
Ali swaggers through the film as a fighter, but his eyes reveal a gentle, God-fearing man. Latif must become both father and mother to survive.
The headline
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother uses action and absurdity to explore how faith survives doubt, anchored by Ali's performance as a man learning to balance violence with tenderness.
