★★★½ (3½ out of 4)
Balancing work, faith and parenthood is always a struggle, especially for Latif (the magnificent Mahershala Ali), a devout Muslim and father of three trying to deal with the death of his wife, Khadija (Shakirah DeMesier). And, oh yeah, there is also his career as a contract killer. And not just any hitman. Latif follows a strict code. No guns. A samurai sword is preferable. And no one dies who doesn’t deserve it.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Latif has his hands full. Things get worse when he decides to give up his assassin duties to concentrate entirely on raising teenage daughter Fatiha (the sublime and deeply gifted Adia), preteen son Qadir (Jahleel Kamara) and an infant daughter who needs her mother’s breast milk and cannot tolerate formula.
Neither can this cliché-adverse thriller. Set deep in the heart of modern Texas, Houston to be exact, “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” follows Latif on a personal odyssey that begins simply as a search to provide for his baby with help from a breast-feeding sex worker named Fugazi (Tiffany Boone). Tramell Tillman, an Emmy winner for “Severance,” plays Talib, a doctor in Latif’s family who makes the connection to Fugazi. And the mosque’s imam, Abdul Malik (a powerfully restrained Giancarlo Esposito), can’t condone the way Latif justifies killing. You may not either, which speaks to the film’s moral complexity.
The plot deepens when Latif’s boss, Mike Mahmoudi (Laith Nakli), wants his best assassin back on the job. Just like Al Pacino in “The Godfather 3,” Latif is caught in a trap. They’re pulling him back in, but this time to meet the needs of his child. Mike’s son Hatty (Abubakr Ali), a porn producer, has drawn the wrath of Pastor Hwan Yoon (John Cho, gloriously over the top), an Iraq War veteran and dangerous psycho who leads a militant evangelical church and wages a violent crusade against people he considers sinful. Mike wants Latif to end this hypocritical man of God.
Unique and unforgettable...
It’s Latif’s crisis of conscience that makes up the core of this deeply resonant film from writer-director Bassam Tariq. He and Ali were working on a remake of 1998’s bloody “Blade,” which starred Wesley Snipes as half-human/half vampire avenger, when the film was stalled. It’s ironic that canceling “Blade” could lead to a movie that tackles the existence of God in a violent modern world and give it the gravity and grace it deserves.
The film doesn’t skimp on brutality. There is a dark comic moment early on when Latif massacres a skinhead and cleans his sword with a baby wipe. Another intense sequence, that wouldn’t be out of place in “Blade,” shows Latif take on the pastor’s army of gunmen with only his sword and the indignation of a righteous warrior.
And I cannot overstate Ali’s contribution. For 2016’s “Moonlight,” playing a compassionate Miami drug dealer who mentors a vulnerable young boy, Ali became the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar. He won another two years later as a refined pianist trying to swallow his rage at the American South in “Green Book.” Whatever Ali plays, you believe him.
The film’s title derives from Islamic hadith in which a man asks the Prophet Muhammad who is most deserving of the best treatment. He answers, “Your mother, your mother, your mother.” The father only ranks fourth, and to see Latif wrestle with the challenge to better himself with his late wife as the model gives this film a touching poignance that is unique and unforgettable.