Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Annie’ (2014)

By Jove, Annie literally lives, breathes and radiates Jupiter – the planet representing the archetype tied to education, expansiveness, and truth and meaning of life – as surely as the Sun will come out tomorrow.

Directed by Will Gluck, the movie begins with the titular character (Quvenzhané Wallis) in a classroom, with an exasperated teacher hearing, yet again, that she hasn’t completed her essay. Instead, she sings the assignment, choosing to extol the wisdom – also Jupiter’s bailiwick – of Franklin D. Roosevelt. If people “work hard” and take advantage of the New Deal he created, she assures her audience, they’ll “get rich.” For those with faith, Jupiter is the gift bringer of the Zodiac, after all.

It’s all aspirational Jupiter at play here, and although Annie, on the one hand, serves as an amiable Jupiter-suffused educator of her cohorts, she’s really hoping and trusting – also the domain of the largest planet – that her life will take on new meaning, opportunity and grandness.

Annie’s a foster child in Manhattan who, when she’s not being boarded at the home of the bitter, hard-drinking and vindictive Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz) with a handful of other unfortunate children, she heads downtown, hoping to be reunited with the parents who had abandoned her at a restaurant called Domani, a/k/a “tomorrow.” Then fate intervenes.

When wealthy cell phone mogul Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx), who happens to be running for mayor of New York City, winds up saving her life, Annie winds up on a new track and the movie ups the Jupiter ante by addressing that planet’s themes of generosity, public relations as a vehicle for expanding one’s reputation, literacy, legal issues, travel, honesty and meaningful use of information. As Annie says, “Mr. Stacks has taught me so much and given me so much opportunity.” Turns out Stacks has some learning to do himself – expansion of domain vs. expansion of family – while being assisted by his loyal employee Grace (Rose Byrne) and deeply fooled by his cunning campaign manager Guy (Bobby Cannavale).

Annie makes a strong case that education is less about facts than creating meaning from whatever life doles out, hard knocks and all.

Archetype: Optimist, Seeker, Educator, Philosopher

Astrology Archetype: ♃ (Jupiter)