This endlessly quotable cult-classic, based on Christina Crawfordâs controversial best-selling tell-all novel, features a powerhouse performance by Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawfordâstruggling for her career while battling the inner demons of her private life. While the public Crawford was a strong-willed, glamorous object of admiration, behind-the-scenes is a private Crawfordâthe woman desperate to be a single-mother and trying to survive in a devastating industry that swallows careers thoughtlessly.