“She’s a mongoloid, she won’t live long,” Dr. Henry callously announces after delivering his daughter, who arrives seconds after a healthy fraternal twin. (In his defense, he had a retarded sister who didn’t make it past 12 and whose death destroyed his mother.) After telling his wife (Gretchen Mol) that their daughter was born dead, he begins to balance his medical career with a parallel life as a fine-art photographer, while Caroline raises the girl with her new truck-driver husband in Pittsburgh. At this point, the film slows down and allows Mulroney to bring his innate goofiness to his portrayal of the guilt-plagued doctor. Once the focus falls more squarely on the inner lives of the characters (and Caroline begins a quest to enroll her daughter in public school), the plot mechanics suddenly seem a lot less absurd. What follows would be a pretty typical Lifetime movie if not for the quirky central performances, which give The Memory Keeper’s Daughter just enough personality to be affecting.

—Andrew Johnston