Goals for the Cinematography: Part 1

My primary goal for the cinematography of the film is to create an atmosphere that sustains a level of tension and ambiguity that keeps the viewer wondering and guessing throughout the course of the film what the outcome of the 'situation' will be. I want to do this through a modern and refined version of what I have seen in many of the traditional Noir film, such as The Maltese Falcon (Huston, 1941) and Murder, My Sweet (Dmytryk, 1944). My number one touchstone for this modern noir look, referentially  is Wim Wenders' The American Friend (Wenders, 1977), which itself is somewhat of a homage to Noir films. The film has a long and complicated plot, which really provides the backdrop for the films characters to shine over. The film practically sustains itself on atmosphere for the entirety of its running time and it is this ability to but atmosphere before plot that I want to emulate. Although subtle compared with the 'traditional' noirs of the 40s and 50s, Robby Müller's cinematography creates a lonely, cynical and dark world which is perfect for our set-up.
I want to make no mistakes when planning each shot, I want everything in frame and the angles and compositions to be the product of total construction rather than coincidence or luck. It is important for me to have my and Ben's (director) intentions come out and not be misinterpreted. The way the shots will lead into another will be from a collaboration between myself and Henry (edit) so that we are both on the same wave-length in terms of how the scene progresses and how the tension ramps, this will be very carefully throughout.
I want to make use of light, not just in the construction of the world but also in terms of character construction i.e. light/dark good/bad. Having the characters move in and out of light could also provide away of showing how the situation is progressing, helping with tension management.