# 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.
- Title: Ali finds grace in faith and fatherhood · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: mahershala ali, your mother your mother your mother, bassam tariq, action thriller, faith and doubt, single parenthood, film review, Ali, finds, grace, faith, fatherhood
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/09/24/your-mother-your-mother-your-mother-review
- Author: Stephanie Zacharek
- Published: 2026-09-25T12:00:03.894+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: mahershala ali, your mother your mother your mother, bassam tariq, action thriller, faith and doubt, single parenthood, film review
## 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.
## Key takeaway

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.