The whole less than the sum of its parts

This was on UK TV last night and left me feeling very empty. I enjoyed the noirish look & feel of the film, most of the acting and the direction but the plot was full of holes (unless I'm being thick) there was some weird casting. Firstly, it wasn't explained what the relationship ws between Charlotte Rampling and Clive Owen. I honestly spent most of the film thinking she was his mother! Secondly, when CO was being a pikey in the forest, what was the relevance of him seeing someone get beaten up and then taking him home? Also, the Malcolm McDowell character, as far as I can make out, had no link with Davey or motive to kill him other than that he had observed him being flash - bizarre! It would have been more coherent to delete the charcter of Board and have the other gangster-boss as the rapist as well. As for the ending, did the writer just run out of ideas? Can anyone shed any light on this? I usually love British gangster movies and want to like this one, but I need some help.