It all started when I Googled my name said Killeen of his movie. And who in today’s day and age hasn’t engaged in just such an activity in a moment of idle webbing. The difference here that the filmmaker actually followed up on his findings by not only contacting his namesakes but also traveling to whatever remote location called for to meet and interview the subjects of his search, even discovering (and verifying through genetic testing) a long-lost cousin.Jim Killeen the filmmaker in Los Angeles found, among others, Jim Killeen the priest in Cobh, Ireland, Jim Killeen the retired cop in New York, Jim Killeen the CEO in Melbourne, Australia and Jim Killeen the sexual swinger in Denver. Google Me has not only been given the search engine’s blessing, but even features Google’s VP of Engineering, Douglas Merrill, in an insightful interview voicing his sentiments on the subject.
Whether an effort to defeat the innumerable self-imposed social barriers erected since the advent of the Internet or out of sheer and simple curiosity, the result is nevertheless telling and enormously entertaining – as well as a provoking commentary on today’s society and how technology has transformed our lives.
Due to the premise of the film, Jim Killeen is likely to become a household name. By employing the single yet powerfully intimate common denominator of a person’s name, Google Me succeeds in exploring the philosophical subject of identity itself as well as the underlying human conditions that unite us all.