Product Details

• Actors: Hugh Thompson, Owen Pattison, Dominique D'Arnell, Jeremy Akerman, Heather Blom
• Directors: Mick Jackson
• Writers: John Pielmeier, Kim Edwards
• Producers: Howard Braunstein, Michael Jaffe, Michael Mahoney
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Chinese, English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: October 7, 2008
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001D7T6AY
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,254 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, The Memory Keeper's Daughter is an emotional drama dealing with a family secret that eventually destroys a family. David (Dermot Mulroney) and Norah (Gretchen Mol) are the perfect couplel; he is a highly regarded physician and she is his beautiful, young, blond wife. Unable to get his wife to the hospital during a blizzard, David delivers their twins himself. A boy is born first--pink, ruddy, and healthy--but the baby girl is a "mongoloid" who has Down Syndrome. There's a saying that some doctors suffer from a God complex, and it would seem that David is one of them; instead of sharing the news with his wife after she wakes up, he makes the decision that he will tell her that only their son survived. He orders his nurse Caroline (Emily Watson) to take his daughter to an institution. There is a feeling of unrest and uncertainty as the characters sense that something isn't quite right. Norah, who never got to say goodbye to her baby, has never been able to get closure and is in a constant state of grieving. David lives with the guilt of what he has done, but doesn't really think he did anything wrong. Even their son feels that something is missing from his life. Caroline, who had always been a loner, winds up having the most complete life. Defying David's orders, she takes the little girl, Phoebe, and runs away with her to raise the girl as her own. At turns poignant and at other times maudlin, The Memory Keeper's Daughter offers some excellent acting by the leads. Watson in particular shows depth and compassion. To a certain extent, she is the moral compass of the film, but she also is the film's heart. --Jae-Ha Kim

Product Description
In 1964, Dr. David Henry (Dermot Mulroney) separated his daughter from her twin brother to hide the daughter's Down Syndrome from his wife. Entrusting the baby to a nurse (Emily Watson), David cut off all contact to focus on his wife (Gretchen Mol)and his son. Over the next 25 years, his disabled daughter grows into a beautiful adult while David watches the rest of his family fall apart, knowing he can never reveal his darkest secret.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 'In Camera', October 12, 2008

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER in the form of a novel by Kim Edwards was a highly successful bestseller and probably was featured in more reading groups than any other novel during its circulation. So what happened when the novel became a made-for-television movie? Perhaps it is the below mediocre screenplay (oops!, teleplay!) by John Pielmeier that consistently galumphs along in an awkward pedestrian fashion removing all sense of credibility to the story. Perhaps it is the cut and paste direction by Mick Jackson that misses the pacing and character delineation. Perhaps it suffers from the cinematography of an uncredited source or the 'liquid tears' musical score by Daniel Licht. For whatever of these (or all of these) reasons, this novel-to-film survives because it does make a good case for educating the public about the capabilities of those born with Down Syndrome. And for that it is worthy of attention.

Dr. David Henry (Dermot Mulroney), a successful orthopedic doctor, is married to the beautiful Norah (Gretchen Mol) and their lives are becoming changed by their pregnancy. On a stormy winter night in Kentucky Norah goes into labor and the Henry's rush to a nearby clinic where David delivers his wife (the doctor is caught in a snowstorm) with the assistance of his old friend, nurse Caroline Gill (Emily Watson). After the delivery of a perfect boy child (Paul) Norah continues to be in labor and (surprisingly...) delivers an unexpected (!) twin girl. David and Caroline immediately recognize that the little girl (Phoebe) is a 'mongoloid' (this is before the use of the term Down Syndrome) and David, having a history of losing a little sister because of a birth defect) decides to send Phoebe to an asylum for the mentally challenged: Caroline is to make the delivery and Norah is told the second twin died at birth.

Caroline follows instructions, sees the conditions of the 'home' where Phoebe is to be deposited, shrinks in horror, and decides to keep the child. Aided by a friendly trucker, Caroline changes her solitary existence and mothers Phoebe, finding a new life in her trucker's Pittsburgh. Norah insists on a formal funeral for Phoebe - a fact that deeply disturbs David's psyche, and the Henry's life goes on with only the one child Paul, leaving submerged pains about the lack of Phoebe's presence. Norah gifts David with a camera ('peoples lives are like a camera, that's where they live - in a room captured by a moment') and David becomes obsessed with photography. Norah grieves, drinks, and loses David's attention, while David traces Phoebe's existence with Caroline - sending money and letters to Pittsburgh. Paul (Tyler Stentiford to Jamie Spilchuk) grows up, discovers his mother's infidelities and is angered about his father's lack of communication and understanding, and decides to fulfill his goal of becoming a musician, and off to Juilliard he goes. Meanwhile Phoebe (Krystal Hope Nausbaum) has matured into a very highly adapted young girl, and the manner in which the broken marriage of the Henrys happens and the healing atmosphere of Phoebe's and Paul's lives coupled with the courage that has supported Caroline Gill's struggle to gain acceptance in the world for those born with Down Syndrome forms the conclusion of the film.

The cast of well-known actors tries hard, but only Emily Watson is able to resurrect a credible character from this squishy script. Jamie Spilchuk gives evidence of a young actor with much promise. Dermot Mulroney and Gretchen find it difficult to mold empathetic characters form the corny lines they are given to deliver. The film is a mess, but the message about acceptance of Down Syndrome children and adults is an important one. Grady Harp, October 08

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Copared to other "made for TV" movies...The Memory Keepers Daughter is, December 31, 2008

By	Barb G (Central NY, USA) - See all my reviews

Others told the plot so I won't go there.

I never read the book, but because of the poor reviews here, I will. However,I just watched this for the second time on TV and loved it (again).Yes, it's "cheesey" as one other reviewer put it but no more so than many,many other made for TV movies.I like "cheesey" or as I'd rather say "sappy".I'm not looking for a blockbuster of a movie on Lifetime. It's the type of movie you'd expect from them.I did have a few tears run down my cheek at the end.( sappy )If you're looking for a great production...look elsewhere but if you want the type of movie Lifetime puts out....go for it. I didn't have any trouble following along having not read the book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shameful representation of the book., September 16, 2008

By	A. Woodward (New Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you've read the book first, don't waste your time watching the movie because you will be sorely disappointed. The director has left out characters from the book and key parts of the story, leaving the movie a mess and hard to follow. I liked the book, but anyone who watches this is certainly not going to be pused to read it. It's the worst case of book to movie I've ever seen!