'Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother' is Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic
Here’s a movie about a hitman we haven’t seen before, as far as I know. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is a deeply resonant film that shows what it would actually be like to be an assassin; furthermore, what it would be like to be an assassin who has a family. What consequences would such a profession bring? How would it negativly effect your kids? Many stereotypes of the profession aren’t shown in this movie, since it’s more about the meaning of taking life than just showing how cool it is. It’s a film about race, poverty, religion, and the beauty a mother can bring to a household that the father usually doesn’t provide.
The hitman’s beliefs drive the movie. Latif (Mahershala Ali) is a devout Muslim who believes he’s getting rid of the bad guys in the world, even though he knows he’s not a very good guy either. Latif never verbalizes his beliefs about his character’s morality, but we can tell. Mahershala Ali does a phenomenal job in projecting pain. Not just physical pain, but the psychological torment a killer would feel. Ali is reserved. He speaks his lines quietly, hardly ever raising his voice. Even when in the middle of complete madness. We can see the misery in Ali’s face. He wants to remove his poker face, but if he does, he’s showing his weakness to everyone. So he has to keep it up, but his eyes tell us he knows he made the wrong choices in life. But could he really help it?
What opportunities are there for impoverished people of color who don’t have a gifted brain? Latif isn’t like his nephew, who’s a medical doctor. Anyone who’s been through med school can tell you that it’s an almost impossible degree to complete. When trapped in the streets by a racist, oppressive system, Latif chooses a career path that gives him the best options for survival. He could have made an honest living doing blue-collar work, but there’s a degree of shame and embarrassment that comes attached to those jobs. Plus, if you’ve lived in America within the last two decades, it’s not a financially secure way to raise a family. You’ll break your back working countless hours for very little pay. Growing up in the hood with so few options for success, it makes sense that Latif chose the path he did, as immoral as it is.
His clinging to religion gives him a sense of righteousness. Although religion teaches us to love thy neighbor, it’s always been used as a weapon to militantly take out people who either don’t share said beliefs or are active sinners. When the law doesn’t take care of people like murderers, gangsters, or sex traffickers, people like Latif are hired to fix matters with their own hands. The result is a cycle of vengeance that leads nowhere but more agony for the world. After losing his wife, Latif’s three children are left in a dangerous position where they could end up being targeted. The household's motherly figure is gone. As they say in The Crow, “Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children.” So what happens when God is dead? What hope do these kids have?
The mother figure is usually someone who’s supposed to bring perspective and tranquility to the household. The father usually brings security. Unfortunately, that security gets confused with masculinity, which can make for a hostile environment. Latif is doing his best to protect his family, but his line of work and cold demeanor ruin a home that was probably more in control when the mother was around. When he faces his newest target, Latif ends up in trouble he could have avoided if he hadn’t let his pride get in the way. Plus, if he made a different milk run.
Latif is hired to take down a young man who profits off of pornography. He’s probably human trafficking, but it’s never blatantly revealed that’s what he’s doing. The man who’s running the operation is a cult leader who pretends that he’s making the world a better place by following the teachings of God, all while going against everything that God teaches. Pastor Hwan (John Cho) is a gun-toting nutjob who leads other gun enthusiasts in a movement that’s like the NRA and radical Christianity rolled up into one. Oh wait, that is the NRA.
John Cho is chilling in this picture. Although he’s this little guy, he has the look of an unhinged psychopath. Yet, Cho doesn’t play him as one. He speaks with a level of kindness that’s disarming, although we can tell just by looking at his golden grills that he’s sick in the head. Not all tough guys have big muscles or are loaded with tattoos. Some are frail human beings who use charisma to climb the criminal food chain.
On the opposite end, the people who hired Latif are not the typical guys who run a kitchen or boxing gym while secretly hiring killers. Latif’s boss, Mike Mahmoudi (Laith Nakli), isn’t just a boss. He’s family. He’s a community organizer. These aren’t bad guys. Aside from the two antagonists, nobody is really a villain in the movie. Just people struggling to get by. They're humans. Not movie characters.
The movie’s ending is a miracle. It should go against the picture’s gritty realism, yet it works brilliantly. It gives the audience faith. It also gives a true sense of forgiveness. Not only is Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother a great character piece, but it also hits all its many complex notes point blank. It’s one of the best pictures of the year, and a sure contender for another Oscar nomination for Mahershala Ali. Maybe a potential nod for John Cho too? If you want to see a wonderful display of empathy, this is an incredible picture to check out.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother opens in select theaters on September 25 and Wide in early October.
