I submit in general they are more fully rendered than most female characters, even if their actions are stupid and annoying.

But I always have the vague niggling sense that the female characters' layers are only there to illuminate something about the male lead. They never seem to have characteristics of their own.

Which I realize is an argument you can make about practically all supporting characters - they exist primarily as foils to the (almost always male) lead, and as such don't really deserve their own stories - but with Cronenberg it tends to feel like bait & switch, and is somehow even more offputting than if they were just 2-dimensional objects to begin with.

(Yes, the last scene in History of Violence made me very, very angry, why do you ask?)

What, the ashes of your enemies wasn't enough??

When I obliterate my enemies not even ashes remain.

So, no.

Like how deeply stupid Naomi Watts' character is in Eastern Promises ?

I think the stupidity was inherent in the screenplay (which was not Cronenberg's), because pretty much if she doesn't do the initial stupid thing, there is no movie. Yeah, her character was my one big problem with the film since she's more of a plot device than a character. There was so much other stuff I liked that I didn't wreck my enjoyment of the movie; mostly I just felt bad for Naomi Watts having such a thankless role.

Actually, apart from Geena Davis in The Fly (and maybe Jennifer Jason Leigh in eXistenZ), most of the women in Cronenberg's movies have either been fantasy figures or plot mechanisms (usually both), or seriously secondary characters.

mostly I just felt bad for Naomi Watts having such a thankless role

That's kind of her thing, isn't it?

Jennifer Jason Leigh in eXistenZ

I found it very difficult to tell if my extreme dislike of that one was JJL's fault or Cronenberg's. Either way, it was not my beautiful cake.

I really liked eXistenZ.

Or perhaps I just want to randomly scream, "eXistenZ is PAUSED!"

The last line of eXistenZ made me laugh like a drain in the theater when I first saw it.

It may have been the movie, Jess, because I thought that was the least affected acting I've seen from JJL in I can't remember how long (maybe The Big Picture). Though if it's JJL herself that sticks in your craw, than it might well have just been her.

I love JJL in The Big Picture. I bought the video just to have her student film.

Also love her in Miami Blues.

Miami Blues, yes. I liked her in The Hudsucker Proxy, but that wasn't exactly unaffected acting.

What, no love for baby JJL in Fast Times?