There is always an underlying truth in fiction and fantasy, so rather than it being a denial of reality, it is a good way to define it. Look at all the posts in this site about Why Michael could not have done this or that, or why something in the film(s) is/are a
mistakes or directorial license, how much the fiction of the Godfather Trilogy relates to the real mob, 9.e how Hyman Roth is based on Meyer Lansky.