The Rebel

Tony rides the train to Waterloo each morning as part of a dull routine. He rebels by hanging his umbrella the opposite way to his coworkers, signaling his small defiance of the system. This act establishes his estrangement from the conventional office world.

In the office Tony is caught drawing faces instead of working. His boss demands he produce the ledgers, which are filled with poor quality caricatures rather than business records. The incident cements his status as a nonconformist among the clerks.

Back at his lodgings, Tony dons an artist's smock and resumes Aphrodite at the Waterhole. The landlady, Mrs Crevatte, complains about the hammering and threatens eviction. In his passion, the statue crashes through the floor, foreshadowing his subsequent misfortunes.

In a local cafe Tony orders a coffee 'with no froth'. The owner complains about an expensive froth-making machine he has just bought. Inspired by a wall poster, Tony decides to go to Paris to pursue art.

Tony travels to Dover with Aphrodite on a wagon at the rear of the train. The statue is decapitated as the train goes through a tunnel, shocking Tony and foreshadowing the fragility of his ambitions.

At the port the statue bursts free from its net and is lost at sea during the crossing. In frustration he flings his bowler hat and umbrella into the water. He arrives in France to heavy rain that mirrors his mood.

In Montmartre he meets Paul, an earnest painter who invites him to share a studio and flat. Tony critiques Paul's colors, insisting they are malformed. Paul is drawn to Tony's naive, 'infantile' art, sparking a precarious artistic camaraderie.

Josey visits and invites them to a sprawling mansion filled with art. The owner, Jim Smith, sleeps on a bookcase while writing a book, signaling a surreal milieu. A group of young followers adores Tony and hangs on his every word.

Inspired by the wild atmosphere, Tony sleeps atop a wardrobe and even brings a cow to live in the flat. He attempts his first action painting, embracing a performative, spontaneous approach. Paul, unsettled, decides to leave and gifts Tony his art.

Tony's growing reputation attracts Sir Charles Broward, an art collector who suspects Paul's works are the artist's own. Tony claims the works were gifts from Paul, which Broward misinterprets, while Tony's own pieces are initially dismissed as dreadful at the first exhibition.

After the opening, Tony dines with Sir Charles at a posh restaurant in Monte Carlo. Mrs Carreras wishes to be painted, and her husband agrees to commission a sculpture from Tony. Tony injures his fingers hammering the piece, and Carreras later offers to buy Tony's entire art collection for £50,000.

On the Carreras yacht, Tony dresses as a budgerigar while Mrs Carreras dresses as a cat, but he rejects her advances. The statue is unveiled as Aphrodite and is accused of assault; it drops overboard, and Tony escapes to the yacht's launch. Still in costume, he heads toward the airport, only to be told to wait for a plane.

Tony returns to Mrs Crevatte's in London, discovering that Paul has moved in and works in an office while painting as a hobby. He persuades Paul to lend him some of his new paintings, planning to reveal the truth later.

Back in London, Tony stages the exhibition and reveals that Paul is the true artist, declaring that the works on his walls are rubbish and that Paul deserves the credit. The crowd reacts with shock as the truth comes to light and Paul gains recognition.

Tony steps aside to let Paul bask in the acclaim while he returns to Mrs Crevatte, resuming work on Aphrodite with her as the model. The ending offers a bitter, quiet reversal for Tony as satire gives way to personal compromise.