cinematic black and white photograph with faint nicotine-yellow and rust-red tones bleeding into highlights and midtones, evoking aged tungsten light and cigarette smoke, inspired by film noir and German Expressionism, interior of an old decaying house with a wooden staircase and ornate railing, diagonal expressionist shadows cast by a strong single light source, a man in a dark hooded jacket and cargo pants stands halfway up the stairs, hands in pockets, no hat, expression somber and introspective, atmosphere of solitude, guilt, and spiritual purgatory, chiaroscuro lighting with high contrast between light and darkness, beam of light cutting through the air like a confession, dust or haze visible, psychological tension and silence thick as smoke, film grain texture, 85mm lens look, f/1.8 cinematic depth of field, ISO 800, subtle vignette, soft highlight roll-off, volumetric light rays, contrast +25, shadows +10, style reminiscent of The Third Man, The Innocents, Angel Heart, and Detour, 1940s–1980s hybrid noir aesthetic, expressionist geometry of shadow and light, mood of existential dread, metaphysical tension, and haunting beauty.

The Stairwell