Movie#89........................."Memory Keeper's Daughter"

Movie #89 "Memory Keeper's Daughter" I missed when it was on t.v., but I liked the book so much that I made sure to get a disc to view it, and I felt it was very close to the book ---- I liked the added musical interludes (Paul playing on his guitar) to show change of time periods and also the use of the dad's photos of Paul to show the years passing. This is a cut above made for t.v. movies because of the story, the aforementioned photos/music for the transitions, and the acting of the two women, esp. one of the best actresses we have, Emily Watson. She is able to pull off the teary ending with aplomb. The book/movie has an interesting conflict ---if you haven't read the book, I still think that conflict is intriguing; i;e. what if your sister died when she was a child due to a congenital condition (and you feel it ruined your mother's life) , and after you as a doctor deliver your first perfect baby, the twin one is not so perfect and you are fairly sure she will have downs syndrome and have trouble the rest of her and your life? If you had the chance, would you not tell your wife she had a second baby? It seems a bit unbelievable, but the book/movie handles it well and shows the consequences of our decisions, good or bad. I liked it and I recommend it if the above conflict sounds intriguing to you, too. (above happens in the first 10 minutes, so I gave nothing away in this critique - it would say it on the back cover of the book (and it says it below in the plot summary!).




Average rating: 3.478
I rate it 4 stars
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
(2008) NR
During a blizzard in 1964, Dr. David Henry (Dermot Mulroney) delivers his son Paul with the help of nurse Caroline (Emily Watson). But when Henry realizes his wife (Gretchen Mol) is also carrying a girl with Down syndrome, he hands the second child over to Caroline without his wife's knowledge. Henry's fateful decision yields grave consequences for his family over the next 20 years in this Emmy-nominated drama based on the Kim Edwards best-seller.