By Somewhere along the way, action movies forgot to be thrillers. In the wake of JOHN WICK and THE RAID, the industry has more access than ever to top-tier fight choreographers and stunt performers. We’re treated to elaborate and technically impressive brawls, many of which embrace an R-rating with ample gore and viscera. It just doesn’t feel like we’re watching people anymore. We passively gaze at movie stars with rubber bones cutting down hordes of enemies (often in a constrained hallway) in pursuit of a simple goal. Even with body counts in the dozens, the stakes feel low. Enter Bassam Tariq’s YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER, a taut, character-driven exploration of a spiritual but violent man who is forced to reckon with the danger he has inflicted upon his kids. This family dynamic and the elements of Islamic spirituality are not window dressing to sell a generic story to a new audience. They imbue every moment of brutality with potent emotional weight. This is the most tense, nakedly human actioner in years.
We meet hitman Latif (Mahershala Ali) as he executes a target in a men’s room. As he wipes the blood off his face, he gets a dreaded call from his daughter Fathia (Adia). His wife Khadijah (Shakirah DeMeiser) has passed away. Latif is now a single father to Fathia, her younger brother Qadir (Jahleel Kamara), and infant Aziza. Everyone quickly realizes that Aziza won’t keep baby formula down and Khadijah’s breast milk supply is running low. As Latif embarks on a desperate journey to find more, another job looms. Mike (Laith Nakali), the man who gives Latif his contracts, needs help with his nephew Haddy (Abubakar Ali). Haddy runs a porn operation that is being endlessly tormented by Christian fundamentalist leader Hwan Yoon (John Cho), who Latif is tasked with killing. At first he has no interest, but when Hwan Yoon starts harassing Fugazi (Tiffany Boone)—one of Haddy’s sex workers who is kind enough to feed Aziza—Latif cannot help but intervene. Now Latif and the family are in danger, and Khadijah can no longer act as a buffer between his children and the violent life he leads.
Mahershala Ali gives perhaps the best performance of a career that has already garnered him two Academy Awards. On a superficial level, he was born to lead this kind of film. His booming voice is effortlessly intimidating before the sword even comes out. Once it does, we watch the 52-year-old move with the grace and ferocity of a man twenty years his junior. Yes, his sharp and efficient fighting style is reminiscent of Wesley Snipes, but Ali is significantly more stoic and ferocious. Director Bassam Tariq doesn’t overload us with action, knowing that Ali can capitalize on short bursts of carnage for maximum impact. The violence here is emotionally driven, always with the highest possible stakes.
Latif is so much more than just a killer, though. He’s a caring if stern father that is going through a deep crisis of faith that contradicts how he and Khadijah have raised their children. Ali doesn’t overdo any of these attributes. He can be strict, but we understand why his children trust him. He wasn’t an absentee father when Khadijah was alive, he was just providing in the most morbid way possible. Latif’s dynamic with Fathia, a quintessential eldest daughter, embodies all of these contradictions the most. She sees how hard he is trying while also coming to the heartbreaking realization that he’s been keeping his true nature from her. Adia often matches Ali’s intensity, giving just as strong a performance. There’s also a palpable humor in all of these family interactions that lightens the mood whenever things get too bleak. All of it feels like totally natural tension and teasing between a parent and his children, ensuring that we never lose sight of the love that these people share.
The world around Latif is rich and textured. We meet the community at Latif’s local mosque, led by Abdul (Giancarlo Esposito, playing a kinder man than usual). Abdul is privy to Latif’s activities, begging him to put down the sword and come back to faith. Ali and Esposito make this feel like a long standing bond with just a few scenes. The same goes for the more tense dynamic between Latif and his brother Talib (Tramell Tillman), albeit in a more antagonistic way. Meanwhile, John Cho has a ton of fun playing against type as an outright scumbag with messy hair and gold teeth. His character is little more than a snarling villain, but Cho is charismatic enough to help us see why he’s garnered a following. This tension between the Muslim and Christian communities (and the grey areas both operate in) adds another layer of pathos without being heavy-handed. This is a true crime film; everyone gets their hands dirty.
Bassam Tariq’s stylish direction keeps this moving at a feverish pace. Every scene has some form of tension, even the more contemplative moments. Despite how dark this story is, the aesthetic is vibrant and often quite colorful. No location feels generic. A strip club pops just as much as a religious compound. Meanwhile, the camerawork of Katelin Arizmendi often captures the action in as few frames as possible. Every frame in the more intimate brawls has something of consequence happen, while the more expansive group fights often involve dynamic camera movement that dances with the choreography. While the smaller scale is perfect for this story, it is clear that this team could pull off some generational action work with a more expensive project down the line.
The only aspect of YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER that gave me some pause is the ending. The third act battle resolves itself in an odd way that initially feels like a bit of an anticlimax. It makes the themes of faith a bit more literal, on first impact feeling like something out of a cheesy Christian film. However, as I’ve sat with the emotional resonance, it has grown on me. I will be curious to see how it impacts me on future viewings. Some audiences may not give it that grace, instead taking it as a cheesy end to an otherwise riveting journey.
YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER is a must see for action fans but it will also have reach beyond that. This is a story universal and emotional enough to potentially reach anyone, even those who do not usually go in for hyperviolence. It is one of the most sturdy screenplays this genre has seen for quite some time, executed at the highest level. Hopefully, Ali and Tariq can continue their collaboration to create even more expansive stories. What a joy to have one of our finest actors liberated from the Marvel machine at last.
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