If you don't know much about the biographies of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, don't expect to build yourself a solid culture about their lives just watching this movie: quite a lot of important things are glossed upon, or reported a bit incorrectly, or not enough developed. Take for example the attitude of Peter Cook towards David Frost: just a couple of quick references appear in Not Only But Always, without any background, and from these we don't understand much.
But where the movie is a brilliant achievement, is in describing the lifelong collaboration and love/hate relationship between the two main characters. This is portrayed with subtlety and compassion, and with such attention to the hurt feelings (and pride) of the protagonists, as it was a very well narrated love story. If you have ever had a very intense and mercurial creative or sentimental involvement with someone else, you will comprehend the struggles of Cook and Moore. In this sense, NOBA is definitely a better and more enjoyable movie than your average biopic.
But where the movie is a brilliant achievement, is in describing the lifelong collaboration and love/hate relationship between the two main characters. This is portrayed with subtlety and compassion, and with such attention to the hurt feelings (and pride) of the protagonists, as it was a very well narrated love story. If you have ever had a very intense and mercurial creative or sentimental involvement with someone else, you will comprehend the struggles of Cook and Moore. In this sense, NOBA is definitely a better and more enjoyable movie than your average biopic.