Continuity mistake: In every case, the pod needs hours to take over the human, but, in Elizabeth's case, she gets changed in less than 5 minutes. (01:24:00)
Continuity mistake: When Matthew goes to rescue Elizabeth from her boyfriend he parks on the street. When they leave he is parked in the driveway.
Answer: On the DVD commentary, Director Phillip Kaufman explained that the leather on Nimoy's hand was the actor's idea and simply showed how kooky the character was. Fits the character well really.
Gavin Jackson