Doc Watch: Feminine Whiles

MARIANNE & LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE (B) - A lovely contemplative tone poem about the love affair between Leonard Cohen and his onetime muse, Marianne Ihlen, who inspired "So long, Marianne" and "Bird on a Wire." The grainy footage from the '60s and '70s (scuffed up by a little CGI?) gives this a sandpapered nostalgia, especially the video from the Greek island where the two spent their days co-habitating.

Nick Broomfield, the bad boy behind "Kurt & Courtney" and "Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam" was a contemporary of Leonard and Marianne, and so he gently injects himself into the story, including as narrator. He gives us deep portraits of each one of them, allowing us glimpses into their inner lives. (They died months apart, after decades of estrangement, in 2016.) The pace is a little slow, especially the first half hour, but the dreamy effect makes this worthwhile.

OVER THE LIMIT (C+) - If you want to see a young athlete berated and degraded by her coaches for 74 minutes (mercifully brief as running times go), then go for the gold. This tells the story of rhythmic gymnast Margarita "Rita" Mamun, as she trains with the Russian national team for the 2016 Olympics. Irina Viner is her vile, foul-mouthed senior coach, a villain in her showy wide-brimmed hats. Amina Zaripova is Viner's hench-woman and assistant coach.

Mamun struggles with foot pain and the trauma of her father's cancer treatments. In short, she doesn't need this crap. But she soldiers on and takes insult after insult. The bulk of the film is pretty much unwatchable; truly horrific. Feel free to start fast-forwarding about 20 minutes in and up to the final five minutes, which are handled wonderfully by director Marta Prus, a relative newcomer. A bonus here is the whole idea of taking rhythmic gymnastics so life-and-death seriously; I couldn't help flashing back to the classic "SNL" sketch with Martin Short and Harry Shearer as synchronized swimmers coached by Christopher Guest. I just hope poor Rita is getting some good therapy these days.

DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION (C+) - This documentary can't keep track of what it wants to be: a feminist polemic about the objectification of women or an ad for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. It ends up toppling into the latter category, and that's a shame. A missed opportunity.

Suzanne Mitchell is the star here. She was the Type A den mother directing the squad, and her present-day stories are entertaining. Some of the former cheerleaders weigh in, but there is not much insight from them. Team apologists also chime in, including one annoying announcer who didn't even show up until the mid '80s, long after the gals' sideline debut during the ERA era.

This one -- from journeyman Dana Adam Shapiro -- starts out promising but eventually starts glossing over important issues, such as costume/weight requirements and the horrendous minimum-wage violations. By the end it becomes a hagiography that applauds Mitchell and lets the male chauvinist pigs off the hook.