In Todd Haynes’ May December, Natalie Portman plays Elizabeth Berry, an actress obsessively researching a married couple with a scandalous past.

The similarities between the couple’s story and the Mary Kay Letourneau case — which May December screenwriter Samy Burch has cited as her inspiration — are striking.

But in an ironic twist, no one involved in the Netflix-produced May December has ever reached out to Vili Fualaau, who serves as the inspiration for Charles Melton’s Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of Joe Yoo.

In the film, Joe is 13 when he is first seduced by Julianne Moore’s 36-year-old character. Fualaau was just 12 when a 34-year-old Letourneau first victimized him in 1996. Letourneau later pleaded guilty to two counts of child rape.

There are many other similarities. Both men are Asian/Pacific Islander — Joe is half-Korean, Fualaau is Samoan. Both father children born in prison. Both marry their female abusers after the...