Gabby Petito: Meurtres, Mensonges et Réseaux sociaux

I am one of those who got captivated over the year 2021 regarding the Brian and Gabby story. Her disappearance just didn't make sense. Brian and Gabby literally grew up together in New York. It isn't clear what his ambitions were but she and he decided to travel and blog to have fun exploring and make money doing it. Something it seems many young people want to do. Photos and videos seemed to witness to how much they were enjoying it.

Then came a series of events, one involving a roadside stop by Utah police after witnesses had reported a "domestic" incident where the two were fighting. Not too long after we all got news that Gabby was no longer heard from. Her daily blog stopped. Then Brian showed up back at his parents home, in Gabby's van but without her. Then her remains were located. Some weeks later Brian's remains were located in Florida, the coroner determined he died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

So we will never know for sure what happened but Brian's notebook tells us that he was responsible for her death. My own speculation is they had a serious fight, Brian choked her and accidentally killed Gabby then panicked and didn't know what to do. And sadly his parents never cooperated, probably because they knew of his guilt. But that is sheer speculation on my part.

I watched this documentary, I didn't learn much new but it provides one long summary of the sad story of Gabby and Brian. It could have been better, of course. For example they spend some time on a video vacationers accidentally got of Gabby's van around the time she disappeared, analysis indicated the back door was closing, but they never indicated if Gabby's remains were found near there or if the video was just an inconsequential accident. It appears to have been rushed out while the news was fresh.

I watched it streaming on Peacock. I found it worthwhile.

As a mother myself this story hit me very hard and I have watched and seen just about every video out there with or about Gabby. This one as a collative whole is MUCH better than most things I have seen. It was a bit confusing when they date jumped backwards but for the most part it was easy to follow. I think for someone who knows nothing about the story this would be a very good watch. I myself am still waiting to hear or see what was found in this magical notebook they supposedly found with Brian. This whole story is extremely sad and not at all what I thought would happen. You always hope for a happy ending, that is not the case here!

The story of the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old, who had embarked on a road trip across the US in 2021 with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Gabby's final months are told through the prism of the internet and found footage.

This is a heartbreaking retelling of a case that gripped social media and the world last year. I followed the case closely on Tiktok and this documentary pieces together the story using clips, dash-cam footage, YouTube videos and news reports to cohesively retell the shocking story that unfolded before us.

We see the sense of community the internet can have, although it can be a hateful and toxic place. Her parents were able to remain calm and reflective as the documentary is part of their campaign to help other victims of abusive partners. To quote Gabby's mother; "The planet came together for Gabby," "Her legacy will help everyone." Nobody can begrudge her that glimmer of positivity.

This is one of a handful of documentaries that chronicle the Gabby Petito case, and it suffers from the same glaring problem the others do -- an over-reliance on social media randos who add nothing to it.

This one had potential. It included sit-downs with Gabby's parents and comment from a few critical investigators actually involved in the case. The focus should have remained on them but unfortunately there are way too many cuts to Tik Tokkers and YouTubers and podcasters "reporting" information that could have been delivered with more thought by actual reporters or law enforcement covering the case.

One "podcaster" repeats the phrase "The Internet went crazy" about a dozen times. It was annoying having to watch these people, with their inflated sense of their own importance, making mind-numbingly obvious observations, and talking as though they are experts who played a part in solving it.

I get that social media played a large part in some aspects of this case, like the family who found the van, but the majority of those featured continually offer nothing but slick graphics as they repeat information that everyone already knows.

As a parent, there is nothing in this world worse than losing a child. If I was Gabby's parents, I would be sick about how the producers of this doc decided to handle it with MTV-like graphics, and vacuous social media ninnies.

Within 30 seconds of this start of this show, I was in tears. The anguish and the pain that both sets her parents went through was agonizing.

The story was captivating. However the ending was disappointing.

Gabby was not a hero. Far from it. When she had the opportunity to tell police what really happened, she blamed herself. I know she was a victim, but victims have to speak up and defend themselves. Especially when they have the opportunity. Women have to learn to leave men who are abusive, not return to them.

Maybe some will say that Gabby's failure is an inspiration to others to succeed. I hope that is the case. But let's be clear that her case was a failure. She did not speak out. She did not tell the police what really happened. She did not take the opportunity to leave this situation that would soon kill her.

Women please don't do this. Get out of abusive relationships. Stand up for yourself. Leave. Tell the truth.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.