One mystery of the movie that is directly incorporated into the narrative is the Strangers drive to figure out what the human soul is. During the movie the strangers are constantly changing and manipulating the humans to figure out what makes us human. One stranger in particular Mr. Hand goes to extreme lengths to figure out what makes us human. He imprints his own mind with the memories of John Murdock to try to capture John and also to feel like to be human. Nevertheless, Mr. Hand never determines what the human soul is. In the end John tells Mr. Hand he was looking in the wrong place leaving the question still up in the air. .
Another aspect of the film noir in movie that strengthens the ideas is the color palette selection and lighting. Most of the movie color palette is browns, greys, and blues but in essence it's monochromatic with little variations. The movie uses a lot chiaroscuro lighting, low key lighting, and spotlighting from overhead. For example the first scene of the movie starts with an establishing shot of a swinging lamp lighting John from overhead, making low key lighting, and generating chiaroscuro lighting to create the feel of suspense horror. Most of the movie is of this visual style creating eerie mysterious feel. This enhances idea of disconnection from reality and a chronological timeline. The only exception to this visual style is when anyone that sees or is reminded of past memories or at the very end when John gets the sun to rise.
At these moments the lighting changes from low key to high key and the colors are saturated and various. For example, every time John looks at the shell beach post card or billboard signs they are full of color. This gives the impression of reality changing and how we perceive it. The reality John lives in now represents the monochromatic color low key lighting displaying the ultimate gloomy and depressing reality they are in. Whereas the faked memories or faked reality is very saturated and with high key lighting showing a world where the most pleasurable and enjoyable outcomes can happen.
These were fairies that looked like they belonged in a New York City nightclub. ... I cut the mechanicals out of the play entirely in order to put the focus of the narrative squarely on the lovers, whose plight I felt had been maligned in each of the multitude of productions of Midsummer I had seen or acted in previously. ...